Systems and methods for providing transport control

ABSTRACT

A transport control interface may be provided by an interactive television program guide application to provide information, control or both for live and recorded video programming. The transport control interface may indicate to the user the time duration of a live or recorded program and any time segments of the program that have been recorded. The transport control interface may automatically adjust the start and end time shown to accommodate various factors such as continuous viewing on a particular channel, multiple recorded segments, buffer size, etc. Various information associated with the live or recorded video programming may be displayed in the transport control interface.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication No. 60/456,080, filed Mar. 18, 2003.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an interactive television application,and more particularly, the present invention relates to an interactivetelevision application that provides a transport control interface whentelevision content is being recorded or viewed.

Interactive television systems are well known. Such systems provide amultitude of services and features, including video-on-demand services,television program listings, web-browsing services, games, home shoppingservices, among others. Another service that has recently grown inpopularity includes the use of a personal video recorder device, whichallows users to digitally store television video content on a hard diskdrive.

One of the most popular brands of personal video recorders is TiVo®.TiVo® typically comes preinstalled with firmware that provides aninteractive user interface. The TiVo® interface allows users to viewprogram listings, set up future recordings, and access recorded content.

The capabilities of present day personal video recorders are numerousand comprehensive. However, the interfaces that are provided to users ofpersonal video recorders fall short of providing sufficient informationabout recorded content, content currently being recorded, and content tobe recorded. Such information would be beneficial to the user, forexample, to enable the user to schedule recording or viewing in a moreinformed and efficient manner.

It would therefore be desirable to provide an interface that allows formore informed and efficient viewing and recording of television contentusing a personal video recorder.

It will be understood that while this application is primarily describedin connection with a personal video recorder, any other suitableplayback or recording devices or systems may be used. As an example, itis equally desirable to provide an interface that allows control ofviewing and recording in connection with a network video recorder orwith video-on-demand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide aninterface that allows for more informed and efficient viewing andrecording of television content provided in connection a personal videorecorder, a network video recorder, video-on-demand, any other suitableplayback or recording device, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may provide a transport control interface(e.g., in the form of a transport control bar) that providesinformation, control or both for video programming. The videoprogramming may include previously recorded video (e.g., video recordedby the user using a local or network digital video recorder,video-on-demand, etc.) and currently broadcasting programming. It willbe understood that a currently broadcasting program in accordance withthe present invention includes broadcast of the program that is shown atsubstantially the time that it is being broadcasted (i.e., notnecessarily a broadcast of a live event) and delayed broadcast of theprogram. The delayed broadcast of the program may be shown, for example,from a memory buffer in response to the user pausing and then resumingplay of the broadcasting program, in response to the user rewinding thebroadcasting program, etc. The transport control interface of thepresent invention may be used in conjunction with any suitable recordingdevice, such as a personal or digital video recorder.

The interactive television program guide application may use thetransport control bar to indicate to the user the duration of acurrently broadcasting program (includes broadcast of the program thatis shown at substantially the time that it is being broadcasted anddelayed broadcast of the program) or a previously recorded program. Anyrecorded portion of a program may be indicated to the user on thetransport control bar. The transport control bar may also indicate acurrent action status with respect to previously recorded video (e.g.,playing, rewinding, fast-forwarding, slow playing, slow reversing,pausing, etc.).

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may allow the user to record non-contiguoussegments of a currently broadcasting program. This may be represented inthe transport control bar as non-contiguous segments of differentcolors, patterns, or other visually distinguishable features.

In some embodiments of the present invention, start times and end timesof a currently broadcasting program that is shown in a transport controlinterface may be adjusted based on changes in the running time of thecurrently broadcasting program.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may provide different modes, such as varioustime modes, in connection with the presentation of the transport controlbar. For example, the interactive television program guide applicationmay automatically initiate a default short term mode when the user tunesto a currently broadcasting program that only displays times that arerelevant to the currently broadcasting program (e.g., its timeduration). In a long term mode, the interactive television program guideapplication may display a transport control bar covering a time periodlonger than a single program, for example, in response to the userviewing programming on a particular channel for a period longer than asingle program.

The interactive television program guide application may displayinformation such as program titles, program boundaries, and any othersuitable information associated with the various programs that arecovered by the time duration on the transport control bar.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may allow the user to pause live video of acurrently broadcasting program. In such embodiments, the interactivetelevision program guide application may pause the time shown within thetransport control bar while continuing to record the live video in realtime. The continued recording may be indicated, for example, by allowingthe buffer region in the transport control bar to extend beyond thepaused transport control block. The interactive television program guideapplication may later allow the user to resume viewing of the livevideo, for example, at any location within the buffered region.

In some embodiments of the present invention the visual appearance of abuffer region that designates automatically recorded content may bedistinguishable from the visual appearance of a region of the transportcontrol bar that designates content that is being recorded at therequest of the user.

Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantageswill be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an illustrative interactive television system inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of illustrative user television equipment inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of additional illustrative user television equipmentin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an illustrative remote control in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of illustrative user computer equipment inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a generalized diagram of illustrative user equipment inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative menu screen in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is an illustrative program guide screen in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative display screen showing how a flip banner thatcontains program listings information for the current channel may bedisplayed as an overlay over video of the current channel in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an illustrative display screen showing how a browse bannerthat contains program listings information for a channel that may differfrom the current channel may be displayed as an overlay over video ofthe current channel in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an illustrative program guide screen in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 12 is an illustrative display screen showing how an interactivetelevision application may provide a user with an opportunity to set aprogram reminder in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an illustrative display screen showing how a reminder may beprovided to a user in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a display screen showing an illustrative video-on-demand menuthat may be used to select a category of video-on-demand content inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a display screen showing an illustrative video-on-demand menuscreen that may be used to locate a desired type of movie in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 16 shows an illustrative title menu that may be used to select avideo-on-demand title of interest in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIGS. 17 a and 17 b are illustrative video-on-demand information screensthat may be used to access video-on-demand content in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 18 is an illustrative display screen showing how video-on-demandplayback controls may be displayed while video-on-demand content isbeing displayed for the user in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 19 a and 19 b are illustrative display screens showing how auser's scheduled recordings may be presented and selected in aninteractive list in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 20 a and 20 b are illustrative display screens showing how auser's recordings may be presented and selected from an interactive listin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 21 is an illustrative display screen showing how video for arecording selected from the list of FIG. 18 may be displayed for theuser in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 22 is an illustrative display screen showing how the user may beprovided with options that allow the user to schedule a recording of adesired program in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 23 a is an illustrative display screen showing how a user may setparental controls for a given program in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 23 b is an illustrative display screen showing how a user may blockcontent by creating a time-based parental control setting in accordancewith the present invention.

FIGS. 24-27 are illustrative conflict resolution display screens thatmay be displayed for the user when it is determined that a requestedvideo delivery conflicts with a program reminder in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in using aninteractive television system to allow a user to create time-basedsettings and request video content delivery and to resolve conflictsbetween the settings and content delivery requests in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 29 is an illustrative display screen that includes a transportcontrol bar provided in connection with the playing of a previouslyrecorded video in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a diagram of a transport control bar provided in connectionwith a previously recorded video in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 31 is an illustrative display screen that includes a transportcontrol bar provided in connection with the rewinding of a previouslyrecorded video in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 32 is an illustrative display screen that includes a transportcontrol bar provided in connection with the viewing of live video inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 33 is an illustrative display screen that includes a transportcontrol bar provided in connection with the viewing of live video inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 34 is an illustrative display screen that includes a transportcontrol bar in short term mode provided in connection with the viewingof live video in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 35 is an illustrative display screen that includes a transportcontrol bar in long term mode provided in connection with the viewing oflive video in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating the transition of a transport controlbar in short term mode to a transport control bar in long term mode inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 37 is an illustrative display screen that includes a transportcontrol bar provided in connection with the viewing of live video inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 38 is an illustrative display screen that includes a transportcontrol bar provided in connection with the recording of live video inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 39 is an illustrative display screen that includes a transportcontrol bar that represents multiple program recordings in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in providing atransport control interface for a currently broadcasting program inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 41 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in modifying atransport control interface to reflect changes in the currentlybroadcasting program in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 42 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in providing atransport control interface that indicates programming informationassociated with a television program in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 43 shows various illustrative action status indicators that may bedisplayed in the transport control interface to indicate the currentmode of the application and/or recent user activity in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 44 is an illustrative display screen that includes a transportcontrol bar in which recorded content associated with previously tunedchannels and recorded content associated with the currently tunedchannel are displayed together in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 45 is an illustrative display screen that includes multipletransport control bars that correspond to multiple inputs in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 46 is an illustrative display screen that includes multipletransport control bars that correspond to multiple outputs in accordancewith the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An illustrative interactive television system 10 in accordance with thepresent invention is shown in FIG. 1. Content such as televisionprogramming and digital music may be provided from programming sources12 to television distribution facilities such as television distributionfacility 14 using communications path 16. Programming sources 12 may beany suitable sources of television and music programming, such astelevision and music production studios, etc.

Television distribution facility 14 may be a cable system headend, asatellite television distribution facility, a television broadcastfacility, or any other suitable facility for distributing television andmusic programming to users. There are typically numerous televisiondistribution facilities 14 in system 10, but only one is shown in FIG. 1to avoid overcomplicating the drawings.

Communications path 16 may be a satellite path, a fiber-optic path, acable path, or any other suitable wired or wireless communications pathsor a combination of such paths.

Television distribution facility 14 may be connected to various userequipment devices 18. Such user equipment 18 may, for example, belocated in the homes of users. User equipment 18 may include usertelevision equipment 20 or user computer equipment 22.

The user equipment may receive television and music programming andother information from television distribution facility 14 overcommunications paths such as communications paths 26, 27, and 28. Theuser equipment may also transmit signals to television distributionfacility 14 over paths 26, 27, and 28. Paths 26, 27, and 28 may becables or other wired connections, free-space connections (e.g., forbroadcast or other wireless signals), satellite links, etc.

Data source 30 may include a program listings database that is used toprovide the user with television program schedule information such asscheduled broadcast times, titles, channels, ratings information (e.g.,parental ratings and critic's ratings), detailed title descriptions,genre or category information (e.g., sports, news, movies, etc.),information on actors and actresses, running times, etc. Data source 30may also be used to provide advertisements (e.g., program guideadvertisements and advertisements for other interactive televisionapplications), real-time data such as sports scores, stock quotes, news,weather, etc. Although data source 30 is drawn as an individual box inFIG. 1, data source 30 and the other system components of FIG. 1 may beprovided using equipment at one or more locations. Systems componentsare drawn as single boxes in FIG. 1 to avoid over-complicating thedrawings.

Data source 30 may provide program schedule information and other datato television distribution facility 14 over communications path 32 fordistribution to the associated user equipment over paths 26, 27, and 28.Communications path 32 may be any suitable communications path such as asatellite communications path or other wireless path, a fiber-optic orother wired communications path, a path that supports Internetcommunications, a combination of such paths, etc. Data source 30 mayprovide program schedule information and other data to the user at userequipment 18 over path 38, communications network 34, and path 42. Path42 may be a wired path such as a telephone line, a cable path, afiber-optic path, a satellite path, a wireless path, a combination ofsuch paths, or any other suitable path.

User equipment devices such as user television equipment and personalcomputers may use the program schedule information to display programlistings and information on digital music for the user. An interactivetelevision program guide application or other suitable application maybe used to display such information on the user's display.

An on-line program guide and other interactive television services maybe provided using a server connected to communications network 34 suchas server 36. Server 36 may receive program schedule information andother data from data source 30 via communications path 38,communications network 34, and communications path 40. Paths 38 and 40may be satellite paths, fiber-optic paths, wired paths, etc.Communications network 34 may be any suitable communications network,such as the Internet, the public switched telephone network, apacket-based network, etc.

User equipment 18 may access on-line program guide information and otherinformation from-server 36 via communications path 42. User equipment 18may also access the on-line program guide and other services on server36 via communications path 26, television distribution facility 14, andcommunications path 44. For example, a cable modem or other suitableequipment may be used by user equipment 18 to communicate withtelevision distribution facility 14. Television distribution facility 14may communicate with communications network 34 over any suitable path44, such as a wired path, a cable path, fiber-optic path, satellitepath, a combination of such paths, etc.

User equipment such as user television equipment 20 and user computerequipment 22 may access the on-line program guide and server 36 usingsimilar arrangements. User television equipment 20 may access theon-line program guide and server 36 using communications path 46 orusing path 27, television distribution facility 14, and path 44. Usercomputer equipment 22 may access the on-line program guide and server 36using communications path 48 or using path 28, television distributionfacility 14, and path 44. Paths 46 and 48 may be any suitable paths,such as wired paths, cable paths, fiber-optic paths, wireless paths,satellite paths, a combination of such paths, etc.

Program guide application functions and the functions of otherinteractive television applications may be supported using server 36 andother servers connected to communications network 34 such as server 56.Interactive television applications may also be supported by servers orother suitable equipment at one or more service providers such asservice provider 50. For example, a home shopping service may besupported by a service provider such as service provider 50 that hassales representatives, order fulfillment facilities, account maintenancefacilities, and other equipment for supporting interactive home shoppingfeatures. A home shopping application that is implemented using the userequipment may be used to access the service provider to provide thesefeatures to the user. The user equipment may access service provider 50via television distribution facility 14 and communications path 52 orvia communications network 34 and communications path 54. Communicationspaths such as paths 52 and 54 may be any suitable paths, such as wiredpaths, cable paths, fiber-optic paths, satellite paths, a combination ofsuch paths, etc.

Another example of an interactive television application is a homebanking application. A home banking service may be supported usingpersonnel at facilities such as service provider 50. An interactive homebanking application that is implemented using the user equipment mayaccess the home banking service via television distribution facility 14and communications path 52 or via communications network 34 andcommunications path 54.

If desired, an interactive television application such as anetwork-based video recorder or a video-on-demand application may besupported using server 56, server 36, or equipment at service provider50. Video-on-demand content and video recorded using a network-basedvideo recorder arrangement may be stored on server 56 or server 36 or atservice provider 50 and may be provided to the user equipment whenrequested by users. An interactive television application may be used tosupport the functions of a personal video recorder (sometimes called adigital video recorder) that is implemented using user equipment 18.Illustrative equipment that may be used to support personal videorecorder functions include specialized personal video recorder devices,integrated receiver decoders (IRDs), set-top boxes with integrated orexternal hard drives, or personal computers with video recordingcapabilities.

If desired, applications such as the interactive television programguide application, a home shopping application, a home bankingapplication, a video-on-demand application, game applications, and otherapplications (e.g., applications related to e-mail and chat or othercommunications functions, etc.) may be provided as separate applicationsthat are accessed through a navigation shell application (i.e., a menuapplication with menu options corresponding to the applications). Thefeatures of such applications may be combined. For example, games,video-on-demand services, home shopping, network-based video recorderfunctions, personal video recorder functions, navigational functions,program guide functions, communications functions, and other suitablefunctions may be provided using one application or any other suitablenumber of applications.

Moreover, the interactive television program guide application, the homebanking application, the home shopping application, the network-basedvideo recorder and personal video recorder applications, thevideo-on-demand application, the gaming applications, communicationsapplications, and navigational applications, are only a few illustrativeexamples of the types of interactive television applications that may besupported by system 10. Other suitable applications that may besupported include, news services, web browsing and other Internetservices, and interactive wagering services (e.g., for wagering on horseraces and the like).

The interactive television application or applications that are used ininteractive television system 10 may be implemented locally on the userequipment. The applications may also be implemented in a distributedfashion (e.g., using a client-server architecture in which the userequipment serves at least partly and for at least some of the time, asthe client and a server such as server 56 at television distributionfacility 14, server 36, or other suitable equipment acts as the server.Other distributed architectures may also be used if desired. Moreover,some or all of the interactive television system features of system 10may be provided using operating system software or middleware software.Such operating system software and middleware may be used instead of orin combination with application-level software. Regardless of theparticular arrangement used to implement interactive television featuresrelated to program guides, home shopping, home banking, video-on-demand,Internet, communications, etc., the software that supports thesefeatures may be referred to as an application or applications.

Illustrative user television equipment 20 that is based on a set-top boxarrangement is shown in FIG. 2. Input/output 58 may be connected tocommunications paths such as paths 27 and 46. Input/output functions maybe provided by one or more wires or communications paths, but are shownas a single path in FIG. 2 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.Television programming and other information may be received usinginput/output 58. Commands and requests and other information from theuser may also be transmitted over input/output 58.

Set-top box 60 may be any suitable analog or digital set-top box (e.g.,a cable set-top box). Set-top box 60 may contain an analog tuner fortuning to a desired analog television channel. Set-top box 60 may alsocontain digital decoding circuitry for receiving digital television andmusic channels. Both analog and digital channels may be handled togetherif desired. Multiple tuners may be provided (e.g., to handlesimultaneous watch and record functions). Box 60 may be an integratedreceiver decoder (IRD) that handles satellite television. If desired,box 60 may have circuitry for handling cable, over-the-air broadcast,and satellite content. Box 60 may include a storage device (e.g., adigital storage device such as a hard disk drive) for providingrecording capabilities. Box 60 may also be connected to a recordingdevice 62 such as a video cassette recorder, personal video recorder, orother device or devices with storage capabilities.

Set-top box 60 contains a processor (e.g., a microcontroller ormicroprocessor or the like) that is used to execute softwareapplications. Set-top box 60 may contain memory such as random-accessmemory for use when executing applications. Nonvolatile memory may alsobe used (e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions). Harddisk storage in box 60 or in recording device 62 may be used to back updata and to otherwise support larger databases and storage requirementsthan may be supported using random-access memory approaches.

Set-top box 60 may have infrared (IR) or other communications circuitryfor communicating with a remote control or wireless keyboard. Set-topbox 60 may also have dedicated buttons and a front-panel display. Thefront-panel display may, for example, be used to display the currentchannel to which the set-top box is tuned.

Set-top box 60 may also have communications circuitry such as a cablemodem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, a digitalsubscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, wireless modem, etc. forcommunications with other equipment. Such communications may involve theInternet or any other suitable communications networks or paths. Ifdesired, the components of set-top box 60 may be integrated into otheruser equipment (e.g., a television or videocassette recorder).

Recording device 62 may be used to record videos provided by set-top box60. For example, if set-top box 60 is tuned to a given televisionchannel, the video signal for that television channel may be passed torecording device 62 for recording on a videocassette, compact disc,digital video disk, or internal hard drive or other storage device.Recording device 62 may have communications circuitry such as a cablemodem, an ISDN modem, a DSL modem, a telephone modem, etc. forcommunications with other equipment. Such communications may involve theInternet or any other suitable communications networks or paths. Thecomponents of recording device 62 may be integrated into other userequipment (e.g., a television, stereo equipment, etc.).

Recording device 62 may be controlled using a remote control or othersuitable user interface. If desired, video recorder functions such asstart, stop, record, etc. and other functions for device 62 may becontrolled by set-top box 60. For example, set-top box 60 may controlrecording device 62 using infrared commands directed toward the remotecontrol inputs of recording device 62 or set-top box 60 may controlrecording device 62 using other wired or wireless communications pathsbetween box 60 and device 62.

The output of recording device 62 may be provided to television 64 fordisplay to the user. If desired, multiple recording devices 62 or norecording device 62 may be used. If recording device 62 is not presentor is not being actively used, the video signals from set-top box 60 maybe provided directly to television 64. Any suitable television ormonitor may be used to display the video. In the equipment of FIG. 2 andthe other equipment of system 10, the audio associated with variousvideo items is typically distributed with those video items and isgenerally played back to the user as the videos are played.

Another illustrative arrangement for user television equipment 20 isshown in FIG. 3. In the example of FIG. 3, user television equipment 20includes a recording device 66 such as a digital video recorder (e.g., apersonal video recorder (PVR)) that uses a hard disk or other storagefor recording video or may be a digital video disc recorder, compactdisc recorder, videocassette recorder, or other suitable recordingdevice. Equipment 20 of FIG. 3 may also include a television 68.Input/output 70 may be connected to communications paths such as paths27 and 46. Television programming and other information may be receivedusing input/output 70. Commands and requests and other information fromthe user may be transmitted over input/output 70.

Recording device 66 may contain at least one analog tuner for tuning toa desired analog television channel (e.g., multiple tuners may beprovided). Recording device 66 may also contain digital decodingcircuitry for receiving digital television and music channels. Ifdesired, recording device 66 may contain circuitry for handling bothanalog and digital channels. Recording device 66 also contains aprocessor (e.g., a microcontroller or microprocessor or the like) thatis used to execute software applications. Recording device 66 maycontain memory such as random-access memory for use when executingapplications. Nonvolatile memory may also be used to store a boot-uproutine or other instructions. The hard disk and other storage inrecording device 66 may be used to support databases (e.g., programguide databases or interactive television application databases). Thehard disk or other storage in recording device 66 may also be used torecord video such as television programs or video-on-demand content orother content provided to recording device 66 over input/output 70.

Recording device 66 may have IR communications circuitry or othersuitable communications circuitry for communicating with a remotecontrol. Recording device 66 may also have dedicated buttons and afront-panel display. The front-panel display may, for example, be usedto display the current channel to which the recording device is tuned.

Recording device 66 may also have communications circuitry such as acable modem, an ISDN modem, a DSL modem, a telephone modem, a wirelessmodem, etc. for communications with other equipment. Such communicationsmay involve the Internet or other suitable communications networks orpaths.

If desired, recording device 66 may include a satellite receiver orother equipment that has wireless communications circuitry for receivingsatellite signals.

Recording device 66 of FIG. 3 or recording device 62 of FIG. 2 mayrecord new video while previously recorded video is being played back ontelevision 68 or 64. This allows users to press a pause button duringnormal television viewing. When the pause button is pressed, the currenttelevision program is stored on the hard disk of digital video recorder66. When the user presses play, the recorded video may be played back.This arrangement allows the user to seamlessly pause and resumetelevision viewing. Recording device 66 and 62 may also be used to allowa user to watch a previously-recorded program while simultaneouslyrecording a new program.

The set-top box arrangement of FIG. 2 and the digital video recorderset-top box arrangement of FIG. 3 are merely illustrative. Otherarrangements may be used if desired. For example, user televisionequipment may be based on a WebTV box, a personal computer television(PC/TV), or any other suitable television equipment arrangement. Ifdesired, the functions of components such as set-top box 60, digitalvideo recorder 66, a WebTV box, or PC/TV or the like may be integratedinto a television or personal computer or other suitable device.

An illustrative remote control 72 for operating user televisionequipment 20 (or suitable user computer equipment 22) is shown in FIG.4. Remote control 72 may have function keys 74 and other keys 76 such askeypad keys, power on/off keys, pause, stop, fast-forward and reversekeys, etc. Volume up and down keys 78 may be used for adjusting thevolume of the audio portion of a video. Channel up and down keys 80 maybe used to change television channels and to access content on virtualchannels. Cursor keys 82 may be used to navigate on-screen menus. Forexample, cursor keys 82 may be used to position an on-screen cursor,indicator, or highlight (sometimes all generically referred to herein asa highlight or highlight region) to indicate interest in a particularoption or other item on a screen displayed by the interactive televisionapplication.

An OK key 84 (sometimes called a select or enter key) may be used toselect on-screen options that the user has highlighted.

Keys 74 may include a record key 86 for initiating recordings. Menubutton 88 may be used to direct the interactive television applicationto display a menu on the user's display screen (e.g., on television 64or 68 or on a suitable monitor or computer display). Info button 90 maybe used to direct the interactive television application to display aninformation display screen. If the user has highlighted a particularprogram listing, for example, pressing the info button 90 may direct theinteractive television application to provide additional programschedule information related to that program listing (e.g., a programsummary, actor information, etc.).

Lock button 92 may be used to modify access privileges. For example, aparent may use lock button 92 or on-screen options to establish parentalcontrol settings for the interactive television application. Theparental control settings may be time-based settings (e.g., to prevent achild from watching television during a particular time block such asfrom 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM). The parental control settings may also be usedto block programming based on rating, channel, program title, etc. Alocked or blocked program is typically not viewable until theinteractive television application is provided with a suitable personalidentification number (PIN). Once this PIN has been entered, theinteractive television program will unlock the user's equipment andallow the locked content to be accessed.

Exit button 94 may be used to exit the interactive televisionapplication or to exit a portion of the interactive televisionapplication. Guide button 96 may be used to invoke the interactivetelevision program guide application.

The keys shown in FIG. 4 are merely illustrative. Other keys or buttonsmay be provided if desired. For example, a music button may be used toaccess music with the interactive television application. An edit buttonmay be used to edit stored content (e.g., to remove commercials, removeportions of a video, etc.). Alphanumeric buttons may be used to enteralphanumeric characters. A last or back button may be used to browsebackward in the interactive television application (e.g., to return to aprevious channel or display screen). Video recorder function buttonssuch as a play button, pause button, stop button, rewind button,fast-forward button, and record button, may be used to control videorecorder functions (local or network-based) in system 10. A help key maybe used to invoke help functions such as context-sensitive on-screenhelp, etc.

Illustrative user computer equipment 22 is shown in FIG. 5. In thearrangement of FIG. 5, personal computer 98 may be controlled by theuser using keyboard 100 or other suitable user input device, such as atrackball, mouse, touch pad, touch screen, voice recognition system, aremote control such as remote control 72 of FIG. 4, etc. Video contentsuch as television programming and interactive television applicationdisplay screens may be displayed on monitor 102. Television programming,video-on-demand content, video recordings played back from anetwork-based video recorder, and other information may be received frompaths 28 and 48 (FIG. 1) using input/output 104. The user may also sendcommands and other information used during interactions with theinteractive television application and system 10 over input/output line104.

Personal computer unit 98 may contain a television or video card such astelevision tuner card for decoding analog and digital televisionchannels and for handling streaming video content. Multiple video cards(e.g., tuner cards) may be provided if desired. An illustrativetelevision tuner card that may be used may contain an analog televisiontuner for tuning to a given analog channel and digital decodingcircuitry for filtering out a desired digital television or musicchannel from a packetized digital data stream. Any suitable card orcomponents in computer unit 98 may be used to handle video and othercontent delivered via input/output line 104 if desired.

Personal computer unit 98 may contain one or more processors (e.g.,microprocessors) that are used to run the interactive televisionapplication or a portion of the interactive television application.

Storage in personal computer unit 98 such as a hard drive, DVD drive, CDdrive, or other suitable storage device or devices may be used to storevideo and other content. For example, the interactive televisionapplication and personal computer unit 98 may use this storage toprovide the functions of a personal video recorder.

User equipment 18 such as user television equipment 20 and user computerequipment 22 may be used with network equipment such as server 56,server 36, and equipment at service providers such as service provider50 of FIG. 1 to provide network-based video recording functions. Videorecording functions may be provided by storing copies of televisionprograms and other video content on a remote server (e.g., server 56 orserver 36 of FIG. 1) or other network-based equipment such as equipmentat a service provider such as service provider 50.

Video recordings may be made in response to user commands that areentered at user equipment 18. In a personal video recorder arrangement,the interactive television application may be used to record videolocally on the user equipment in response to the user commands. In anetwork-based video recorder arrangement, the interactive televisionapplication may be used to record video or to make virtual recordings onnetwork equipment such as server 36, 56, or equipment at serviceprovider 50 in response to the user commands. The user commands may beprovided to the network equipment over the communications paths shown inFIG. 1. The personal video recorder arrangement and the network-basedvideo recorder arrangement can support functions such as fast-forward,rewind, pause, play, and record.

To avoid unnecessary duplication in a network-based video recorderenvironment, the system 10 may provide network-based video recordingcapabilities by using virtual copies or recordings. With this approach,each user may be provided with a personal area on the network thatcontains a list of that user's recordings. The video content need onlybe stored once (or a relatively small number of times) on the networkequipment, even though a large number of users may have that videocontent listed as one of their recordings in their network-based videorecorder personal area.

The user television equipment and user computer equipment arrangementsdescribed above are merely illustrative. A more generalized embodimentof illustrative user equipment is shown in FIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 6, control circuitry 106 is connected to input/output108. Input/output 108 may be connected to one or more communicationspaths such as paths 26, 27, 28, 42, 46, and 48 of FIG. 1. Television andmusic programming may be received via input/output 108 (e.g., fromprogramming sources 12, servers or other equipment such as server 36,service providers such as service provider 50, and televisiondistribution facility 14). Program schedule information for aninteractive television program guide application may be received fromdata source 30 via input/output 108. Input/output 108 may also be usedto receive information from data source 30 for other interactivetelevision applications. The user may use control circuitry 106 to sendcommands, requests, and other suitable information using input/output108.

Control circuitry 106 may be based on any suitable processing circuitry110 such as processing circuitry based on one or more microprocessors,microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices,etc. Memory (e.g., random-access memory and read-only memory), harddrives, DVD drives, CD drives, or any other suitable memory or storagedevices may be provided as storage 112 that is part of control circuitry106. Tuning circuitry such as one or more analog tuners, one or moreMPEG-2 decoders or other digital video circuitry, or any other suitabletuning or video circuits or combinations of such circuits may also beincluded as part of circuitry 106. Encoding circuitry (e.g., forconverting over-the-air or cable analog signals to MPEG signals forstorage) may also be provided. The tuning and encoding circuitry may beused by the user equipment to receive and display or play or record aparticular television or music channel or other desired audio and videocontent (e.g., video-on-demand content or requested network-based orlocal video recorder playback). Television programming and other videoand on-screen options and information may be displayed on display 114.Display 114 may be a monitor, a television, or any other suitableequipment for displaying visual images. Speakers 116 may be provided aspart of a television or may be stand-alone units. Digital music and theaudio component of videos displayed on display 114 may be played throughspeakers 116.

A user may control the control circuitry 106 using user input interface118. The user input interface 118 may be any suitable user interface,such as a mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, touch pad,voice recognition interface, remote control, etc.

An illustrative menu 120 that may be displayed on the user's displayscreen is shown in FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7, menu 120 may provide theuser with an number of selectable options. The options shown in FIG. 7are merely illustrative. Any suitable options may be provided ifdesired.

A user of user equipment 18 (e.g., a user of user television equipment20 or a user of user computer equipment 22, or a user of any othersuitable user equipment device) may invoke an interactive televisionmenu such as menu screen 120 by pressing menu button 88 (FIG. 4). Remotecontrol 72 (FIG. 4) or other user interface 118 (FIG. 6) may be used toposition highlight region 121 on top of selectable options such asoptions 122-135. If the user selects option 122 or 123, a screen ofprogram listings may be displayed. Option 124 may be used to displayprogram listings for channels designated by the user as “favorites.”Option 125 may be used to provide program listings selected forpromotion by a service provider (e.g., a program guide service provider,a cable operator, etc.). Option 126 may be used to invoke a homeshopping service. Options 127 may be used to search program listings bytitle, time, category, or any other criteria. Option 128 may be selectedto display options related to video-on-demand services. Option 129 maybe selected to display an interactive list of previously recordedrecordings and option 131 may be selected to display an interactive listof programs scheduled for recording. Option 130 may be selected todisplay pay-per-view program listings and pay-per-view services options.If the user selects option 132, the user may be presented with anopportunity to access home banking functions. Option 133 may be selectedto change system setup options and option 134 may be selected to launcha web browser or other application for accessing the Internet. Option135 may be selected to access other interactive television services.When the user selects an option with highlight region 121 from menuscreen 120, the user's selection may be described in information displayregion 136.

If desired, program guide screens such as menu screen 120 and otherinteractive television application screens may include selectableadvertisements 137. Any suitable advertisements may be provided,including panel advertisements, banner advertisements, advertisementsprovided between program listings, advertisements provided on certainprogram listings or other portions of the screen, or any other suitableadvertisements. A user may use cursor keys 82 of remote control 72 (FIG.4) to position a highlight region on an advertisement of interest andmay select the highlighted advertisement using OK key 84. Users of otheruser interfaces may make appropriate selections using the buttons orcontrols available through those interfaces (e.g., using voice commandsif the user interface involves a voice recognition arrangement, etc.).

An illustrative program guide screen 138 that may be displayed for theuser is shown in FIG. 8. Program guide screen 138 may be displayed, forexample, when the user selects program listings option 122 of FIG. 7,when the user selects a suitable option from within an interactivetelevision program guide application or other interactive televisionapplication, or when the user presses an appropriate remote controlbutton such as guide button 96 or otherwise uses user input interface118 to indicate a desire to view program listings.

Program guide screen 138 may contain a grid or list of program listings143. Program listings 143 may include program titles, channels,scheduled broadcast times, and any other suitable program scheduleinformation. Highlight region 142 may be used to select a desiredprogram listing 144. Program Information for selected programs mayappear elsewhere on program guide screen 138 (e.g., in programinformation display region 139). If the user presses OK key 84 when aprogram listing for a current program is highlighted, the interactivetelevision application may tune to the channel for that program. If theuser presses OK key 84 when a program listing for a future program ishighlighted, the interactive television application may provide the userwith an opportunity to set a reminder for that program or to record thatprogram.

Other functions that the interactive television application may provideinclude the ability to set favorites or establish preferences or othersettings. For example, the user may select a particular channel for theprogram guide to automatically tune to when the user equipment is turnedon. The user may also select favorite programs, favorite channels, etc.The program guide or other interactive television application mayprovide the user with the ability to establish parental controlsettings, the ability to search for programming of interest, and theability to view program descriptions, advertisements, text, graphics,and video, etc. These are merely illustrative examples of interactivetelevision functions that may be provided by interactive televisionsystem 10. Other suitable interactive television functions may beprovided if desired.

A user may access program listings (e.g., program listings of the typeshown in FIG. 8) by using the interactive television application toselect an on-screen option such as option 122 and 123 of FIG. 7, bypressing a dedicated guide button such as guide button 96 on remotecontrol 72, by selecting any other suitable button or on-screen option,etc. In the example of FIG. 8, program listings are currently beingdisplayed for television programs that air between 12:00 noon and 1:00PM. As shown by arrows 140 and 141, the user may use right or leftcursor keys to navigate to other times (e.g., to direct the interactivetelevision application to display appropriate screens of programlistings 143 for different time periods). If desired, the user mayselect options or press keys (or use user input interface 118 tootherwise enter suitable commands) that direct the interactivetelevision application to display program listings organized by channel,by genre, by service type (e.g., pay-per-view or regular broadcasttelevision), etc.

Selectable options, such as options 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151,and 152, may be provided as part of program guide screen 138 or anyother program guide screen for providing access to various interactivetelevision application features. For example, option 145 may be used todisplay a home screen or main menu, such as menu screen 120 of FIG. 7.Option 146 may be selected to display program listings for channelsdesignated by the user as “favorites.” Option 147 may be selected todisplay listings of recommended programs using highlight region 142.Scroll indicators 148 and 149 may be used to navigate down and upthrough program listings. Option 150 may be selected to displayinformation related to video-on-demand services. Option 151 may beselected to search television program listings by title, time, category,or any other suitable criteria. Option 152 may be selected to displayinformation related to digital music services.

The interactive television application may provide a “flip” tuningfeature. As shown in FIG. 9, when the user invokes the flip mode, flipdisplay 153 may be provided over a portion of a channel (i.e., channel2) that the user is currently tuned to and is watching on display screen154. Flip display 153 contains information (in region 156) on theprogram 155 appearing on the current channel (channel 2) to which theset-top box 60 or other user equipment is tuned. The user may change thechannel using channel up and down keys on the remote control or usinguser interface 118 to issue other suitable channel change commands. Thissimultaneously changes the channel to which the set-top box 60 or otheruser equipment is tuned and the channel information displayed in region156 (and the associated program information 155).

The flip display 153 may be removed manually or automatically (e.g.,after a few seconds or other suitable time period of user inactivity).When the user starts changing channels again, the flip display 153 maybe displayed again.

The flip feature of the interactive television application thereforeallows the user to view program information for the channel that theuser is currently viewing as the user changes channels. In the exampleof FIG. 9, the flip display 153 is displayed in the form of an overlayon top of the current channel. If desired, the video for the currentchannel may be reduced in size and the flip information (e.g., theprogram title and channel information for the current program) may bedisplayed at a location on the periphery of the reduced-size video(e.g., at the bottom, side, or top of the reduced-size video).

An advertisement 158 or other content may be provided in the flipdisplay region if desired. Other optional information that may bedisplayed in flip display 153 includes information on the scheduledbroadcast times for the program 155, ratings information, programdescriptions, and other program-related information.

The interactive television application may also be used to provide abrowse feature. As shown in FIG. 10, when the user invokes the browsefeature (e.g., by pressing an up or down cursor key), browse display 160may be displayed as an overlay over a portion of the channel (i.e.,channel 2) that is being displayed on the user's display screen 162 andto which the user is currently tuned. Browse display 160 may initiallycontain information on the current channel. For example, browse display160 may, when initially invoked by the user, contain the title of thecurrent program and information on the current channel such as thecurrent channel number, call letters, and network logo.

When the user presses the up or down cursor key (or enters othersuitable commands using user interface 118), the browse display may bechanged to display information on the programming available on otherchannels. In the example of FIG. 10, the user has pressed the cursorkeys repeatedly, until the user has browsed to channel 99. The videothat is being displayed on display screen 162 has not changed in thisexample (channel 2 is still being displayed).

As indicated by arrows 166, the user may use right and left cursor keys82 (or other suitable controls) to browse to other time slots (e.g., toview information related to programming that is scheduled for broadcastat a later time). Browse display 160 may contain an advertisement 168,information 170 on scheduled program times, program descriptions andother program-related information and icons such as check icon 163 (toindicate that a reminder has been set for a given program) and ratingsicon 161.

If the user locates a currently available program of interest on anotherchannel, the user may press the OK key 84 to direct the interactivetelevision application to tune the user equipment to that channel.

The browse display 160 may be removed manually or may be removedautomatically from display screen 162 after a suitable period of userinactivity (e.g., after a few seconds or a minute or two).

If desired, the browse display can be displayed on the periphery of thevideo for the current program rather than as an overlay. The video forthe current channel may be reduced in size accordingly.

When the user has indicated interest in a program (e.g., by positioninghighlight region 142 of FIG. 8 on top of a given program listing, bytuning to a program, by viewing a program listing on the flip banner ofFIG. 9 or the browse banner of FIG. 10, etc.), the user may press infokey 90 (FIG. 4) to obtain more information for that program.Illustrative info screens 171 and 180 that may be displayed when a userpresses info button 90 are shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, respectively.Screens such as screens 171 and 180 may be provided when a user selectsa program listing from a interactive television application screen(e.g., program guide screen 138 of FIG. 8). Info screen 171 of FIG. 11may include a detailed description 172 of a program selected by theuser. Description 172 may include, for example, the title, time,channel, and rating of the program, or any other suitable information.As in FIG. 8, selectable options may be provided as part of info screen171 to provide access to various interactive television applicationfeatures. For example, option 174 may be used to return to the previousprogram guide screen. Option 175 may be used to tune to the selectedprogram or set a reminder for the selected program (e.g., the programfor which information is displaying in description 172). Option 176 maybe selected to display recording options and services for the selectedprogram. Option 177 may be selected to display options for adding areminder for the selected program. Option 178 may be used to displayoptions for adding the selected program or channel to a user'sfavorites, and option 179 may be used to display options for providing aparental lock on the selected program. Selectable options for otherinteractive television application features may also be provided. Ahighlight region may be used to select any of the selectable optionsprovided by a program guide screen. Information describing a highlightedoption may be provided, for example, in information display region 173.

Information screens may include advertisements. For example, info screen180 of FIG. 12 may include selectable advertisements 181. Informationregions on screen 180 such as title region 182 and program descriptionregion 186 may be used to display information on the selected programsuch as title information, ratings information, plot summaryinformation, information about actors, genre, critics ratings, etc.

Region 190 may be used to inform the user of the possibility of settinga reminder for the selected program, of tuning to the channel showingthe selected program, of recording the selected program, of purchasingthe selected program if it is a pay-per-view program, of parentallycontrolling the selected program, of configuring a related profile orpreference settings, or performing any other suitable action related tothe selected program. Region 190 may also be used to provide additionalinformation related to the selected program. The user may positionhighlight region 184 on top of either yes option 183 or no option 185 orany other suitable options (e.g., options to tune to the channel, torecord the program, to purchase the program, to parentally control theprogram, to configure the preference settings, etc.). When the userpresses the OK key 84, the interactive television application may thentake appropriate actions. If the user opts to set a reminder for theprogram listed in the info screen 180, the interactive televisionapplication may display a pop-up reminder overlay on top of the videofor the channel that the user is currently watching just before theprogram associated with the reminder is scheduled to begin, or anysuitable display screen that is active at the time that the reminderpops up (e.g., a program listings screen).

An illustrative reminder is shown in FIG. 13. In the example of FIG. 13,the user is watching channel 3. The current time is 6:58 PM. Previously,the user set a reminder for the program “On The Riviera,” which isscheduled to be shown on channel 39 at 7:00 PM. Because the program forwhich the user set the reminder is just about to begin, the interactivetelevision application displays reminder list 192 as an overlay on topof the video for channel 3 that is being presented on display screen194. The reminder list may contain a list of one or more programs forwhich the user has set reminders. In the example of FIG. 13, one programlisting 196 (“On The Riviera”) is displayed.

The user can tune to a program by selecting that program from thereminder list 192. For example, the user may position highlight region198 on listing 196 and may select that listing by pressing the OK key84. The interactive television application may then tune the user to thechannel for the desired program (i.e., channel 39 in this example).

The user can close the reminder list by pressing the OK key 84 whilehide reminder option 200 is highlighted.

The reminder list may be displayed at any suitable time (e.g., at 0-15minutes before the program of interest is to begin, at a user-selectedtime before that program, etc.). Moreover, the reminder list may bedisplayed around the periphery of the video for the current channel andthe video for the current channel may be displayed in a reduced-sizewindow. These are merely illustrative examples. Any suitable arrangementmay be used to notify the user of upcoming programs or in-progressprograms for which the user has set reminders and other programs ofinterest.

The interactive television application may be used to provide the userwith access to video-on-demand content. The user may, for example, beprovided with an option such as video-on-demand option 128 on menuscreen 120 of FIG. 7. When the user selects option 128, the interactivetelevision application may display a screen such as video-on-demandcategories screen 202 of FIG. 14. Screen 202 may include logos such aslogo 204, selectable (or non-selectable) advertisements such asadvertisements 206, and a screen title 208. The user may positionhighlight region 210 on an option 212 corresponding to a video-on-demandcategory of interest.

When the user selects the video-on-demand category of interest fromscreen 202, the interactive television application may display a displayscreen such as subcategory selection screen 214 of FIG. 15. In theexample of FIG. 15, the subcategories screen 214 contains subcategoryoptions 220 corresponding to movies, because (in this example) the userselected movies A-Z option 212 from screen 202 in FIG. 14. Video window221 may be provided in any video-on-demand information screen and mayprovide information relating to a video-on-demand program selected bythe user or any other suitable video information.

The user may position highlight region 218 onto a desired subcategory220 and may press OK key 84 to view a list of available video-on-demandcontent associated with that subcategory. An illustrative display screen222 that the interactive television application may display for the userwhen the action subcategory option 220 (FIG. 15) is selected is shown inFIG. 16. As shown in FIG. 16, display screen 222 may include informationidentifying the selected subcategory 224. Screen 222 may also include alist 226 of titles 230 (or other content indicators). The user mayposition highlight region 228 on a desired video-on-demand title 230 andmay press the OK key to proceed with the selection of that title.

Selecting a desired video-on-demand title 230 from title selectionscreen 222 may direct the interactive television application to displaya video-on-demand information screen such as information screen 232 ofFIG. 17 a. Screen 232 may include information 236 on the selectedvideo-on-demand content, such as title, run time, price, rating, and adescription of the selected video-on-demand content.

Selectable options, such as options 234, 235, 237, and 238 may beprovided as part of screen 232 to provide access to various interactivetelevision application features. For example, option 238 may be selectedto access options for ordering the selected video-on-demand content.Option 237 may be used to access options for recording the selectedcontent, and option 235 may be used to access options for settingparental control locks for the selected content. If the user selectsoption 234, the interactive television application may display a videoclip containing information on the video-on-demand content of interest(e.g., a promotional video such as a preview, a trailer, a review,etc.). The video clip may be delivered to the user equipment 18 from aserver such as server 36 or server 56 of FIG. 1 or from equipment at aservice provider such a service provider 50. The interactive televisionapplication may also provide the user with additional information on thevideo-on-demand content in response to the user selecting option 234.Other suitable selectable options may also be provided on screen 232(e.g., a program package information and purchase option, options forsearching program listings for related content, etc.).

If a user requests information for video-on-demand content that hasalready been ordered, the interactive television application may providevideo-on-demand information screen such as screen 239 of FIG. 17b, whichmay include selectable options different than those provided for screen232 of FIG. 17a. For example, option 240 may be used to start playingselected video-on-demand content from the program position most recentlyviewed. Option 241 may be used to present the selected content from thebeginning, and option 242 may be used to access options for recordingthe content. Option 243 may be used to remove the selected content froma listing of the ordered and available content. Option 244 may be usedto access options for setting parental control locks for the selectedcontent. If the selected content is being accessed over a network orbeing provided by a network storage device, option 245 may be used tostore the content on a local storage device.

In response to a user ordering selected content (e.g., by selecting anon-screen order option such as option 238 of FIG. 17 a, or by usingremote control 72 or any other suitable input device 118 to ordercontent, etc.), the interactive television application may deliver theordered video-on-demand content to the user equipment from a server suchas server 36 or server 56 or from a service provider such as serviceprovider 50. The communications paths and communications network 34 ofFIG. 1 may be used in delivering the requested content.

The ordered video-on-demand content may be displayed for the user on adisplay screen such as video-on-demand playback screen 246 of FIG. 18.As shown in the lower portion of screen 246, interactive options may bedisplayed in a toolbar 248 or other suitable format. The interactiveoptions 248 (or similar remote control buttons) may allow the user torewind the video-on-demand content to the beginning, rewind, play,fast-forward, pause, stop delivery of the video-on-demand content, orperform other video playback options. The arrangement of FIG. 18 ismerely illustrative. For example, the video-on-demand content may beplayed back in a reduced size window (of fixed or user-selectable size).

The interactive television system 10 may be used to support videorecorder functions. The video recorder functions may be supported usinglocal arrangements (e.g., arrangements in which a personal videorecorder or other suitable equipment in the user's home is used torecord videos on a local hard drive or other storage device) andnetwork-based arrangements (e.g., arrangements in which networkequipment such as servers 36 and 56 or equipment at a service providersuch as service provider 50 is used to store video and data for theuser). Combinations of these arrangements may also be supported usingsystem 10.

In a local video recorder arrangement (sometimes called a personal videorecorder arrangement or local digital video recorder arrangement), videorecordings are stored locally on the user equipment. Information onwhich videos have been recorded may also be maintained locally. Programguide information (e.g., titles, rates, descriptions, categories, etc.)may also be maintained for the recorded videos. When a user desires toview a list of the recordings that the user has stored on the userequipment, the interactive television application may retrieve thisinformation from local storage and may display this information to theuser locally on user equipment 18. The user may then select a desiredrecording to play back.

In a network-based video recorder arrangement (sometimes called aclient-server video recorder arrangement), videos may be stored on thenetwork (e.g., at servers such as servers 36 and 56 or at a serviceprovider such as service provider 50). Information on which programshave been recorded for the user may be stored locally and on the network(e.g., at servers such as servers 36 and 56 or at a service providersuch as service provider 50).

Network-based recordings may be made in a number of ways. For example,some or all of the regularly-broadcast television programming providedby programming sources 12 may be automatically recorded or copies ofthis programming otherwise maintained on a suitable network storagedevice such as server 36, server 56, or equipment at a service providersuch as service provider 50. If the user chooses to “record” a program,no actual recording need be made, because a copy of the desired programalready exists on the system. With this type of arrangement, virtualrecordings take the place of real recordings.

The user may be given a “personal area” on the network. The personalarea may be accessed when the user enters an appropriate personalidentification number or by virtue of the user's connection to thenetwork through a known or trusted communications path (e.g., when theuser is connected through a dedicated cable path to a server at a cablesystem headend such as a server 56 at television distribution facility14 of FIG. 1).

The personal area may be used to maintain a list of the video contentthat the user has recorded. Whenever the user directs the network-basedvideo recorder portion of the interactive television system to make arecording, the system updates the user's personal area to make it appearas though an additional “real” copy of the requested recording has beenmade. The network-based video recorder implemented with this approachtherefore conserves storage space, while providing users with theillusion of access to a network-based video recorder dedicated to theirpersonal use.

Alternatively, there may be no personal area and each user may haveaccess to all previously recorded content to which they had rights whenoriginally broadcast.

As another example, some or all of the content for which a user requeststhat a recording be made may be recorded by creating actual copies(e.g., digital recordings) of the requested content. These actual copiesmay be stored on network equipment (e.g., servers such as servers 36 and56 or equipment at a service provider such as service provider 50).

Programs recorded onto a network server may be copied to a user's localstorage.

A combination of these approaches may be used if desired. For example,some content may be automatically retained by the system (e.g., copiesof popular programming). The user may make virtual recordings of thismaterial. The presence of the virtual recordings may be reflected in theuser's personal area. Other content may be stored in the form of actualrecordings at the direction of the user (e.g., less popular content).The presence of these recordings may also be reflected in the user'spersonal area.

Regardless of the way in which network-based recordings (virtual orreal) and local recordings are made, the interactive televisionapplication may be used to provide the user with interactive displayscreens that assist the user in making recordings, managing recordings(e.g., editing recordings, deleting recordings, renaming recordings,sending recordings to other users over the communications paths of FIG.1, etc.), playing back recordings, viewing information about recordedprograms, etc.

Once a program has been selected by a user for recording, the selectedprogram may be presented in an interactive list of programs scheduled tobe recorded. An illustrative scheduled recordings screen 250 that may bedisplayed for the user on user equipment 18 is shown in FIG. 19a. Screen250 may be displayed by the interactive television application when theuser selects an option provided by another program guide screen, such asprogram guide screen 120 of FIG. 7 or any other suitable option. Screen250 may include, for example, a list of programs scheduled to berecorded 251. A highlight region 252 may be used to select a scheduledrecording from the list. The user may position highlight region 252 on adesired scheduled recording and select the scheduled recording using anappropriate key of remote control 72.

Information about a scheduled recording selected by the user may bepresented in a screen such as screen 253 of FIG. 19 b. Screen 253 mayinclude scheduled recording information 254, which may show the date,time, and channel for which a program is to be recorded. Information 254may also indicate which device has been designated to record the programand whether a parental lock is set for the program scheduled to berecorded. The user may edit information 254 by selecting edit option 255using a highlight region. Other selectable options may be provided inscreen 253, for example cancel option 256 which the user may select tocancel the scheduled recording.

Once a program has been recorded, a program guide screen may bepresented to display recorded programs. An illustrative video recordingsscreen 260 that may be displayed for the user on user equipment 18 isshown in FIG. 20. Screen 260 may be displayed by the interactivetelevision application when the user selects an option provided byanother program guide screen, such as program guide screen 120 of FIG. 7or any other suitable option. The recordings 261 may be local recordingsthat are stored on the user's equipment 18 or may be real or virtualnetwork-based recordings (e.g., network-based content stored onequipment such as server 36 or server 56 or at service provider 50). Ina network-based video recorder environment with a personal area, screenssuch as screen 260 provide access to all or part of the user's personalarea. The user may navigate through the personal area using remotecontrol 72 or other suitable user interface 18.

Screen 260 may include a list of the user's recordings 261. Recordinglistings may include the time and channel the program was recorded orany other suitable information. The user may position highlight region262 to select a recording of interest (e.g., to view that recording, toview information about that program, to delete the program, etc.). Theuser may position highlight region 262 on a desired recording and selectthe recording using an appropriate key of remote control 72.

Information about a recording selected by the user may be presented in ascreen such as screen 264 as illustrated in FIG. 20b. Screen 264 mayinclude recording information 265, which may show the date, time, andchannel the program was recorded. Information 265 may also show whethera parental lock is set for the recording and what device has beendesignated to store the recording. The user may play the recording byselecting option 266. The user may play the selected recording from thebeginning by selecting option 267. Option 268 may be selected to deletethe recording from the list of recordings. Option 269 may be used to seta parental lock for the selected recording. If the selected recording isbeing stored on a network video storage device, the user may selectoption 259 to transfer the recording to a local storage device.On-screen options may be selected using a highlight region and a remotecontrol, or by any other suitable method.

When a given recording is selected for play back, for example byselecting play option 266, a display screen such as display screen 269of FIG. 21 may be presented. Display screen 269 may include the video270 of the selected program that is being played back to the user andoptions 271 for controlling the video. Options 271 may, for example,include options that allow the user to rewind the video to thebeginning, to rewind or reverse the video, to play the video, tofast-forward the video, to pause the video, or to stop the video.Control of these functions and other interactive television applicationfunctions may be supported using on-screen options, dedicated ormulti-purpose keys on remote control 72 or other user devices, or othersuitable arrangements involving user interface 118. When on-screenoptions are used, the options may be displayed in the form of one ormore overlays on top of video 270 or video 270 may be provided in areduced-size window and the options displayed outside of this window.

With the arrangement of FIGS. 20 and 21, the user can browse the user'srecordings and can play back (and control the playback) of theserecordings. Recordings that are stored locally on user equipment 18 maybe played back by retrieving these recordings from the local hard driveor other storage on which the recordings are maintained. Recordings thatare stored on the network may be played back from the network equipmenton which the recording content is stored. User equipment 18 may receivesuch content in the form of a real-time video stream or a file downloadand the interactive television application may play back the receivedcontent using a display screen arrangement of the type shown in FIG. 21.

The user may record programming by indicating interest in a program forrecording by highlighting a program of interest on a suitable displayscreen provided by the interactive television application and pressing arecord key, by selecting a program for recording from a flip or browsedisplay, by tuning to a desired program and selecting an appropriaterecord button, by selecting a record option from an information screen,etc. For example, the user may highlight a program in a program listingsscreen such as screen 138 of FIG. 8, or may display a program listing ofinterest on a flip display such as flip display 153 of FIG. 9 or on abrowse display such as browse display 160 of FIG. 10. When the userpresses a suitable remote control key such as record key 86 of FIG. 4,the interactive television application may record the desired program.

The interactive television application may automatically record theprogram that the user selected or may provide one or more additionalconfirmation and information screens after the user presses the recordkey 86. As an example, the interactive television application maydisplay a screen such as record set-up screen 272 of FIG. 22. As shownin FIG. 22, screen 272 may include title and ratings information inregion 273 and a program description 274. The user may be provided withinformation on the scheduled broadcast time for the selected program. Ifthe user desires to record the program, the user may position highlightregion 275 on top of YES option 276 and may press OK key 84. If the userdoes not wish to record the program, the user may position highlight 275on top of NO option 277 and may press the OK key 84. If desired, otheroptions such as series recording options, recording quality options, andbuffer time options may be provided.

When the user directs the interactive television application to record agiven program, the interactive television application will record theprogram using the local capabilities of user equipment 18 or using thenetwork-based video recorder capabilities of the system 10, depending onthe equipment of the user, the capabilities of system 10, and system anduser settings.

After the program has been recorded, the user may use the interactivetelevision application to view information on the user's recordings(e.g., using a display screen arrangement of the type shown in FIG. 20).These techniques for supporting recording functionality in theinteractive television application are merely illustrative. Any suitablearrangement for recording (as real recordings or as virtual recordingsand locally or on network equipment) may be used if desired.

The interactive television application may allow the user to establishparental control settings. For example, the user may lock a particularprogram, a program rating, a channel, a type of content (e.g., violentor sexual content), or may establish a parental control setting thatblocks all television viewing during a particular period of time. A usermay be required to enter a personal identification number (PIN) tounlock blocked content.

With one illustrative arrangement, a parent (or other suitable user) mayselect a program to block by highlighting the program listing for thatprogram in a suitable program listings screen (e.g., a screen such asscreen 138 of FIG. 8). After highlighting the program to be blocked, theparent may press lock key 92 on remote control 72 (FIG. 4). The parentmay also access options for setting parental locks by selecting anon-screen parental control lock option provided by the interactivetelevision application (e.g., option 234 of FIG. 17 a, option 244 ofFIG. 17 b, etc.).

In response to a user selecting an on-screen option or remote controlkey to access parental control lock options, the interactive televisionapplication may display a display screen such as parental controlsdisplay screen 278 of FIG. 23 a. Parental controls options may beaccessed from a main menu, a selected program, or any other suitableprogram guide screen. Users may set parental locks for a selectedprogram or a range of programming by selecting from various criteria.For example, users may select to block programs according to title 279,TV rating 280, movie rating 281, channel 282, or any other suitablecriteria. Block ratings options 280 and 281 may allow users to block allprogramming with a given rating (e.g., the same rating as the selectedprogram or a user-input rating or range of ratings). The user may beprovided with other options for applying parental lock settings byselecting, for example, (YES/NO) time block option 283. A user may alsoselect to hide or show adult titles by selecting option 284. Otherselectable options may also be provided in screen 278.

If the user has selected “YES” for time block option 283, a time blocksub-menu may be provided, for example, screen 286 of FIG. 23 b. The usermay use the on-screen options of screen 286 to set a beginning time(option 288) and ending time (option 290) for the parental control timeperiod. The user may use option 292 to make the parental control settingeffective for all days of the week, certain groups of days (e.g., weekdays or weekend days), or a particular day or days. The user may pressOK key 84 when finished. Other selectable options may also be providedas part of screen 286.

The parental control screens 278 and 286 of FIGS. 23 a and 23 b aremerely illustrative. Any suitable on-screen options or other userinterface arrangement may be used to allow a parent (or other user) toblock (parentally-control) programming airing during a particular periodof time, programming on a particular channel or channels, programmingwith a certain rating, individual instances of certain programs, etc.

Interactive television application settings such as reminder settings,pay-per-view purchases, recording settings, and some parental controlsettings may be referred to as “time-based” settings, because thesesettings involve the element of time. In the reminder setting context,for example, reminders are made for programs that are to be aired at aspecific time in the future. Recordings are also often scheduled forfuture broadcasts. Parental controls settings that block the viewing ofa program that is aired at a specific time or that block all or sometelevision viewing during a particular time window are also time-basedsettings.

These time-based settings may give rise to conflicts during theoperation of the interactive television application. For example, a usermay attempt to order a video-on-demand movie or may attempt to play backrecorded video recorder content. If the duration of the requested videocontent will cause the delivery of that content to overlap with areminder, a purchased pay-per-view program, a recording, or a periodduring which programming is blocked by parental control settings, aconflict will arise. In situations such as these, the interactivetelevision application may be used to help resolve the conflict.

The interactive television application may be used to resolve suchconflicts by presenting the user with display screens that inform theuser of on-screen conflict-resolution options. The user may use theseoptions in deciding how to best resolve a conflict.

A conflict may arise when the user requests delivery of video-on-demandcontent or video-recorder content (e.g., a video-on-demand movie or amovie stored in the user's personal video recorder or in the user'spersonal area on a network-based video recorder). The conflict may occurwhen the requested content has a running time that will cause thatcontent to overlap with a reminder that the user has set. When theinteractive television application detects this type of conflict, theapplication may display a conflict notification and resolution screensuch as conflict notification and resolution screen 298 of FIG. 24.Screen 298 may include information that informs the user of theconflict. Screen 298 may include the title and running time of thevideo-on-demand program. Information on the title and scheduledbroadcast time of the program 299 for which the reminder was set may beincluded. Screen 298 may also include an indicator such as check-markindicator 300, which indicates that a reminder for the program 299 hasbeen set.

In the example of FIG. 24, the user sets a reminder for a scheduledairing of the television program Seinfeld at 8:00 (e.g., using a screensuch as screen 180 of FIG. 12). The user then attempted to order theplayback of the movie “The Majestic” (which may be eithervideo-on-demand or video-recorder content). When requesting the video,the user may have used a video-on-demand order process such as thevideo-on-demand order process described in connection with FIGS. 7 and14-17 or a video-recorder playback request process such as thevideo-recorder playback request process described in connection withFIGS. 7, 20, and 21. These are merely illustrative arrangements forrequesting that the interactive television application present videocontent on the user's equipment 18. Any suitable arrangement may be usedif desired.

When the user submits a request to system 10 asking that The Majestic bedelivered to the user's equipment (or presented on the user'sequipment), the interactive television application uses knowninformation on the running time of the requested video (supplied, forexample, by a suitable network-based or local database associated withthe network-based or local content storage equipment used to store thevideo) and uses known information on the time for the reminder (e.g.,from a program guide database created using program schedule informationfrom data source 30) to determine whether these two events will overlap.If the events will overlap, the interactive television application maydisplay screen 298.

Screen 298 may include a number of on-screen options from which the usermay select to resolve the conflict. The user may, for example, selectoption 301 if the user desires to continue with the delivery of therequested video content to the exclusion of the reminder. If option 301is selected, the system 10 will proceed to deliver the video forMajestic to the user. The reminder for Seinfeld will be cancelled.

Option 302 provides with user with an opportunity to continue with thedelivery of the requested video and also allows the user to reschedulethe reminder for Seinfeld. If the user selects option 302, theinteractive television application may provide the user with a displayscreen that allows the user to reschedule the reminder for Seinfeld toanother scheduled airing of the same program (e.g., at the scheduledbroadcast time for a repeat showing of the program or at the scheduledbroadcast time for another episode of Seinfeld, etc.).

The user may use option 304 to direct the user's local or network-basedvideo recorder to make a recording of Seinfeld (e.g., on user equipment18 or on network-based equipment in the form of a virtual or realrecording). If the user selects option 304, the requested video contentis delivered to the user and the interactive television applicationrecords Seinfeld at its scheduled broadcast time or otherwise obtains acopy of Seinfeld for the user.

Option 306 may be selected if the user desires to watch the requestedvideo content after Seinfeld is over. The user may select option 306 todefer the video content delivery (or presentation) until Seinfeld hasaired, at which time the system 10 may automatically deliver (present)The Majestic to the user.

Option 308 may be selected if the user desires to select another time atwhich to watch the Majestic. The interactive television program guideapplication may, for example, allow the user to select another day andtime at which to watch the requested video. When that new day and timearrives, the interactive television application may automatically (e.g.,after a confirmatory prompt) deliver the requested content to the user.

The interactive television application may provide the user with anoption such as option 310 that allows the user to cancel the delivery ofthe Majestic. This allows the user to watch Seinfeld.

Option 311 may be selected if the user would like to begin watching theMajestic, pause for Seinfeld at its scheduled air time, and then resumeplayback of the Majestic after Seinfeld is over.

It will be understood that the options presented in conflictnotification and resolution screen 298, or any other conflictnotification and resolution screen discussed here in are illustrativeand that some options may be omitted and others added if desired.

A conflict may arise when the requested video (e.g., “The Majestic”)overlaps with a recording that the user has scheduled with theinteractive television application (e.g., a recording of the programSeinfeld) when the system does not support simultaneous viewing ofon-demand content (e.g., video-on-demand movies, pay-per-view-movies,playback of recorded programs, etc.) and recording of broadcast content.The interactive television application may use information e on therunning time of the requested video and information on the scheduledtime of the recording to determine whether there is an overlap betweenthese two events. When a conflict is detected, the interactivetelevision application may present a screen for the user such as displayscreen 312 of FIG. 25.

As shown in FIG. 25, screen 312 may include information such as thetitle and duration of the requested video content and the title and time314 of the scheduled recording. Program listings information for theprogram for which the recording is scheduled may be annotated with anicon such as recording icon 316 that indicates that the displayedprogram title is one for which a recording has been set.

Display 312 may include a number of on-screen options. The user mayselect an appropriate option to instruct the interactive televisionapplication on how to resolve the conflict between the requested videoand the recording that the user has set.

If the user selects option 318, the interactive television applicationwill proceed to provide the requested video (e.g., the Majestic) to theuser and will cancel the recording (e.g., the recording for Seinfeldwill be cancelled).

If the user selects option 320, the interactive television applicationwill deliver The Majestic and will provide the user with on-screenoptions or other suitable opportunities to reschedule the recording ofSeinfeld. For example, the interactive television application mayprovide the user with an opportunity to schedule the recording ofSeinfeld for when Seinfeld is being shown as a repeat.

If the user selects option 322, the interactive television applicationwill present The Majestic to the user and will record Seinfeld using thenetwork-based or local video recorder functions of system 10.

The user may select option 324 to defer the delivery of The Majesticuntil after Seinfeld has been recorded.

When the user selects option 326, the interactive television applicationmay provide the user with one or more screens of options that allow theuser to select another time for viewing the Majestic.

Selecting option 328 directs the interactive television application tocancel delivery of The Majestic. The recording of Seinfeld willtherefore no longer give rise to a conflict and can proceed asscheduled.

If desired, option 329 by may be selected to direct the system todeliver the Majestic to the user until the beginning of the recording ofSeinfeld, pause the Majestic for the duration of the recording, and thenresume the delivery of the Majestic when recording is complete.

Conflicts can arise when a requested video will overlap with atime-based parental control setting. For example, the user may haveblocked the viewing of all programming between 3:00 and 5:00. If theuser requests delivery of video content that will overlap with this timeperiod, the interactive television application may display a screen suchas conflicts notification and resolution screen 330 of FIG. 26.

Screen 330 may include the title of the video-on-demand program and itsduration and information 332 on the particular parental control settingthat has given rise to the conflict. Screen 330 may also contain optionsthat allow the user to instruct the interactive television applicationon how to address the conflict. The user may select option 334 if theuser desires to watch the requested video and override the existingparental control settings. With this approach, the user may be requiredto supply the interactive television application with a valid personalidentification number (e.g., the parent's PIN) to unlock the blockedtime period.

The user may select option 336 if the user desires to defer delivery ofThe Majestic until after the period of time covered by the conflictingparental control setting has passed. In the example of FIG. 26, aparental control setting that blocks all programming from being viewedbetween 3:00 and 5:00 has been established. If the user selects option336, the interactive television application may defer presentation ofThe Majestic until 5:00 PM, which is the time at which the parentalcontrol expires.

Option 338 may be used to select another time for delivery of theMajestic. The user may select option 340 to cancel delivery of therequested video. The user may select option 341 to begin the Majestic,to pause for the duration of the parental control block, and to resumedelivery of the Majestic after the parental control block.

Conflict notification and resolution screens may also be provided asvideo overlays, alerts, or reminders. These types of notification may beparticularly useful in resolving conflicts as they occur rather than inadvance of the conflict. For example, as shown in FIG. 27; a screen 350may be provided that includes a video for on-demand content (e.g., avideo-on demand-movie, a recorded movie, a pay-per-view movie, abroadcast program that has been paused or rewound so that it is nolonger being viewed in real-time, etc.). A user may have requested theon-demand video content and subsequently paused or rewound the video,prolonging the time it will take the video to complete. Although aconflict may not have been apparent at the time the video was requested,because the video's time has prolonged due to pausing, rewinding, etc.,there may now exist a potential conflict with the requested video and aprogram previously scheduled to be recorded, a reminder, an orderedpay-per-view, or a parental control.

In response to such a conflict, the recording application mayautomatically begin buffering the program scheduled for recording,reminder, or purchase, and when the requested video is complete, theuser may be notified of the presence of the buffered recording.Alternatively, as the start time for the conflicting scheduled programapproaches, the interactive television application may provide the userwith a conflict alert video overlay, such as conflict alert videooverlay 351 of FIG. 27. Conflict alert video overlay 351 may include oneor more selectable advertisements 352 as well as a number of on-screenoptions for resolving the conflict. The user may select an appropriateoption to instruct the interactive television application on how toresolve the conflict between the video being displayed and the recordingor other time-based setting that the user has set.

If the user selects option 354, the interactive television applicationmay ignore the conflict and continue to provide the selected video beingdisplayed to the user and may cancel the recording, reminder, orpurchase (e.g., the recording for NBA Basketball will be cancelled). Ifthe time based setting is a parental control time block, the user may berequested to enter a pin to continue watching.

If the user selects option 356, the interactive television applicationwill stop providing the requested video being displayed and tune to thescheduled broadcast of NBA basketball. If the user selects option 358,the interactive television application may start to buffer the scheduledprogram while the requested video finishes. Once the requested video iscomplete, the use may be provided with an opportunity to view theprogram being recorded in its entirety.

A flow chart of illustrative steps involved in resolving conflicts thatarise when a user requests delivery of video that conflicts withtime-based settings such as reminders, recordings, pay-per-viewpurchases, and parental controls is shown in FIG. 28. At step 360, theinteractive television application may provide the user with on-screenoptions and other suitable opportunities to create a time-based setting.For example, an interactive television program guide application may beused to provide the user with an opportunity to establish a reminder fora program, to purchase a pay-per-view program, to set a recording of aprogram, or to establish parental controls that lock all channels orcertain channels at particular times (e.g., during a given period oftime or for the duration of a program, etc.).

After the user has used the interactive television application to createone or more of these settings, the user may be provided with anopportunity to request video content at step 362. For example, theinteractive television application may provide the user with anopportunity to request that video-on-demand content be delivered fromthe network. The user may also be provided with an opportunity torequest that local or network-based video recorder content be playedback for the user.

When the user requests that video content be presented to the user onthe user equipment 18, the interactive television application may, atstep 364, provide the user with opportunities to resolve conflicts thatarise. For example, the interactive television application can useinformation on the expected running time of the video-on-demand or videorecorder content and can use this information to determine whether therequested video will overlap with a scheduled program reminder, ascheduled and pre-ordered pay-per-view program, a scheduled programrecording, or the time period during which a parental control setting isin effect. The interactive television application may display conflictnotification and resolution screens on the-user's equipment.

The conflict notification and resolution screens that are displayed forthe user may include conflict resolution options that the user mayselect. The user may, for example, cancel a reminder, orderedpay-per-view program, or scheduled recording, or may override anexisting parental control setting by providing an appropriate parentalcontrol PIN. The user may opt to defer or reschedule delivery of therequested video to avoid the conflict, or the user may cancel videodelivery. The interactive television application may resolve theconflict in accordance with the user's instructions at step 366.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may provide a transport control interface(e.g., in the form of a transport control bar), which providesinformation, control or both for video programming. The videoprogramming may include previously recorded video and currentlybroadcasting programming. Previously recorded video may be, for example,video recorded by the user (e.g., using a local or network digital videorecorder), video-on-demand, or any other suitable form of recordedvideo. Currently broadcasting programming may include, for example,broadcast of the program that is shown at substantially the time that itis being broadcasted (i.e., not necessarily a broadcast of a live event)and delayed broadcast of the program. The delayed broadcast of theprogram may be shown, for example, from a memory buffer in response tothe user pausing and then resuming play of the broadcasting program, inresponse to the user rewinding the broadcasting program, etc., or anyother suitable form of broadcast programming. The transport controlinterface of the present invention may be used in conjunction with anysuitable recording device, such as a personal or digital video recorder.

FIG. 29 shows one example of such a transport control bar 2902 providedin connection with a previously recorded video that is being shown indisplay screen 2900. Transport control bar 2902 may graphicallyrepresent the entire length, for example, thirty minutes, of thepreviously recorded video 2904. The beginning of the previously recordedvideo 2904 may be indicated by a start time of 0:00, for example, on theleft hand side of transport control bar 2902. The end time of thepreviously recorded video 2904 may be indicated to the user, forexample, on the right hand side of transport control bar 2902 (e.g.,0:30).

The interactive television program guide. application may provide on thetransport control bar 2902 a transport control block 2906. The transportcontrol block 2906 may indicate to the user the relative location of thecurrent video frame in the previously recorded video segment. In theillustrated example of FIG. 29, the user is viewing a video frame thatcorresponds to the 12th minute of the previously recorded video 2904.The current transport action (e.g., playing of the recorded video) isindicated to the user by a forward play arrow on transport control block2906. Transport control block 2906 may move along transport control bar2902 in accordance with the time position of the programming beingviewed. For example, in the beginning of the programming, transportcontrol block 2906 may be positioned at the far left of transportcontrol bar 2902 corresponding to the 0:00 time position.

FIG. 29 is merely illustrative of such a display screen. Any othersuitable arrangements may be used.

FIG. 30 shows another suitable arrangement that may be used for anillustrative transport control bar. In this example, transport controlbar 3000 is displayed by the interactive television program guideapplication during playback of prerecorded content. As illustrated,transport control bar 3000 may display an actual starting time 3004 asopposed to a generic “0:00” marker. An actual or predicted ending time3006 may also be displayed (i.e., as opposed to a generic “0:30”marker). More specifically, accordingly to one approach, starting time3004 may correspond to the actual time at which recording of the programstarted and ending time 3006 may correspond to the actual time at whichrecording ended. According to another approach, starting time 3004 maycorrespond to the time at which the playback of the recorded programbegan and ending time 3006 may correspond to the predicted time at whichthe playback of the recorded program will end. Transport control block3002 may display an actual time 3008 that corresponds to the actual timethe current frame is being, was, or would be played back. Thisarrangement allows for a more live feel to video playback. Such uses oftimes are merely illustrative. Any other suitable arrangement may beused.

Section 3014 of transport control bar 3000 (i.e., the portion to theleft of tab 3010) may indicate the portion of recorded content that isprior in time to the frame associated with time 3008. In this example,section 3014 indicates the recorded video portion prior to time frame5:29 p. In another suitable example such as the one shown in FIG. 29,section 3014 may indicate the recorded video portion prior to generictime frame 0:12. Section 3012 of transport control bar 3000 (i.e., theportion to the right of tab 3010) may indicate the portion of recordedcontent that is subsequent in time to the frame associated with time3008. In this example, section 3010 indicates the recorded video portionsubsequent to time frame 5:29 p. In another suitable example such as theone shown in FIG. 29, section 3010 may indicate the recorded videoportion subsequent to generic time frame 0:12. Sections 3014 and 3012may be displayed in different colors, patterns, or any other suitablevisually differentiating way.

In one suitable approach, the interactive television program guideapplication may allow the user to record non-contiguous segments of acurrently broadcasting program (includes broadcast of the program thatis shown at substantially the time that it is being broadcasted anddelayed broadcast of the program). This may be represented in thetransport control bar as non-contiguous segments of different colors,patterns, or other visually distinguishable features.

Action status indicator 3016 may be displayed in transport control block3002 to indicate a current action status (e.g., play, rewind,fast-forward, pause, record, or any other suitable mode). Action statusindicator 3016 may be in the form of an icon, as illustrated in FIG. 30,text, or any other suitable form. More detailed description of actionstatus indicators is provided below in connection with FIG. 43.

FIG. 30 is merely illustrative of such a display screen. Any othersuitable arrangements may be used. For example, information such asprogram title, channel, any other suitable programming-relatedinformation, advertisements, logos, or any combination of informationthereof may be displayed within or in association with the transportcontrol bar.

FIG. 31 shows one example of a transport control bar in which thetransport control block indicates that the user is currently viewing thevideo corresponding to the eighth minute of the recorded video. Thetransport control block also includes a double rewinding arrow 3102indicating that the user is currently rewinding the previously recordedvideo.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may provide transport control of live video.In these embodiments, a transport control bar tailored to the control oflive video may be provided. FIG. 32 shows one example of such atransport control bar 3200. In this example, the currently viewed videomay be shown, for example, in response to the user tuning to a broadcastchannel. Start time 3210 on the left side of the transport control bar(e.g., 7:00 p) may indicate to the user the start time of the currentlybroadcasting program (includes broadcast of the program that is shown atsubstantially the time that it is being broadcasted and delayedbroadcast of the program) or any other suitable time. End time 3212 onthe right side of the transport control bar may indicate to the user theend time of the current program or any other suitable time. Transportcontrol block 3208 may, for example, indicate the current time and therelative time position in the current program or the time span betweenstart time 3210 and end time 3212, which may also be graphicallyindicated by tab 3206, or in the time span of region 3212.

In another suitable approach, end time 3212 may always be configured tobe a fixed length of time from start time 3210 (e.g., two hours). Inthis case, start time 3210 and end time 3212 may be independent of thestart and end times of the program being broadcast. In this embodiment,start time 3210 may be set to the nearest previous half hour when theuser changes channels, for example 7:00 pm when the user tunes at 7:14pm. End time 3212 would be set to 9:00 pm in this example. When theviewer has watched the same channel long enough so that the time beingviewed is no longer in the displayed span, the start and end times maybe incremented by 30 minutes. For example, when the viewer watches thesegment of the program that was broadcast at 9:00 pm, start time 3210may be changed to 7:30 pm and end time 3212 may be changed to 9:30 pm.In this embodiment, start time 3210 and end time 3212 may also bechanged by a half hour at a time as the user rewinds or fast forwardsthrough delayed content.

The interactive television program guide application may also change thecolor or other characteristics associated with the buffer of therecorded content to indicate that it corresponds to a user requestedrecording. A recording status icon may be displayed on the transportcontrol bar in place of the play status button to indicate theuser-requested recording in progress.

The interactive television program guide application may begin recordingthe live video, for example, using a digital video recorder, when theuser tunes to the currently broadcasting program. A buffer region 3204may be displayed on transport control bar 3200 to indicate the portionof video that has been recorded. Buffer region 3204 may be displayedusing, for example, a different color on transport control bar 3200 thanregion 3202 and region 3214, which may themselves be different inappearance from each other. Any other suitable visual distinction may beused to indicate the buffer region, including for example, a pattern. Inthe example shown in FIG. 32, a small buffer region 3204 is displayed tothe left of the current view time (i.e., shown by tab 3206) indicatingthat a small portion of the program has been recorded in the memorybuffer (i.e., based on the fact that the user has been tuned to thecurrent program for a correspondingly short time). When the userinitially tunes to live video, there will be no buffer region 3204 ifnone of the live video was previously recorded. However, as the usercontinues to watch the live video, buffer region 3204 will be createdand enlarge in size as the interactive television program guideapplication records the video.

The interactive television program guide application may, for example,allow the user to view the recorded video represented by buffer region3204 in accordance with, for example, the actions described with respectto previously recorded video (e.g., rewind, fast forward, play, etc.).Tab 3206 may in such situations be positioned within buffer region 3204with respect to which particular frame is currently being accessed. FIG.33 shows a recorded buffer region 3300 that is associated with arelatively longer period of time than buffer region 3204.

It will be understood that transport control bar 3200 may also displayinformation when the user activates a recording option to record aparticular program (as opposed to automatic recording of content into abuffer). For example, the interactive television program guideapplication may display transport control bar 3200 when the user pressesa “record” button on a remote control to record content on a currentlytuned channel. Buffer region 3204, in such a situation, may indicate thecontent saved into memory since the recording began. Tab 3206 may bemoved within region 3204 in order perform any suitable action (e.g.,rewind) while the program continues to be recorded (and region 3204continues to expand to the right). Start time 3210 and end time 3212 mayindicate the actual start time and end time of the program beingrecorded. For purposes of brevity and clarity, the present invention isprimarily discussed herein in terms of a buffer region. It will beunderstood that the buffer region applies to any suitable indication ofcontent being recorded, including automatic recording, manual recording,programmed recording, any other suitable type of recording, or anycombination of thereof.

In one suitable approach, start times and end times, such as start time3210 and end time 3212, displayed on a transport control bar, such astransport control bar 3200, may be adjusted based on changes in therunning time of a currently broadcasting program (includes broadcast ofthe program that is shown at substantially the time that it is beingbroadcasted and delayed broadcast of the program). For example, if alive event, such as a sporting event, runs longer than originallyscheduled, the delay information, which may be periodically downloadedinto the user television equipment from the television distributionfacility, may be used by the interactive television program guideapplication to change the times indicated on the transport control barto represent new scheduled times.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may provide different modes, such as varioustime modes, in connection with the presentation of the transport controlbar. For example, the interactive television program guide applicationmay automatically initiate a default short term mode when the user tunesto a currently broadcasting program. The transport control bar in thisshort term mode may, for example, only display times that are relevantto the currently broadcasting program. One example of such a transportcontrol bar is shown in FIG. 33. The transport control bar may displaythe entire duration of the currently broadcasting program (from 7:00 pto 8:30 p), while the buffer region 3300 is automatically adjusted bythe interactive television program guide application to represent therecorded portion of the currently broadcasting program.

FIG. 34 shows another example of a transport control bar 3400 that isdisplayed, for example, in connection with a long term mode. Theinteractive television program guide application may automaticallydisplay such a transport control bar covering a time period longer thana single program, for example, in response to the user viewingprogramming on a particular channel for a period longer than a singleprogram. In such embodiments, the interactive television program guideapplication may adjust the transport control bar to display a longertime duration that does not correspond to a particular program. Theinteractive television program guide application may, for example,display information such as program titles, program boundaries, and anyother suitable information associated with the various programs that arecovered by the time duration on the transport control bar. The longertime duration may be determined by the interactive television programguide application, for example, based on the buffer size, based on thesize of recorded video, based on the estimated end time of the currentlybroadcasting program (includes broadcast of the program that is shown atsubstantially the time that it is being broadcasted and delayedbroadcast of the program), based on natural breaks in the programline-up, based on user-specified time duration, based on any othersuitable criteria, or based on any combination thereof.

FIG. 34 shows a transport control bar 3400 in which start time 3402 andend time 3404 have been updated (from the start and end time shown inFIG. 33) to indicate the beginning of the buffer region and the end of anew program that began broadcasting following the recording of animmediately preceding program. According to another suitable approach,end time 3404 may indicate the end of an arbitrary period of time sincethe new program began broadcasting (e.g., 30 minutes). According to yetanother suitable approach, end time 3404 may indicate the time at whichthe buffer will be full.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may perform automatic transitions from onetime mode to another in response to, for example, user actions, naturaltransitions in broadcast programming, or any other suitable conditions.FIG. 35 shows one example of such an automatic transition in transportcontrol bar display from a short term mode that is associated with aparticular program to a long term mode. The interactive televisionprogram guide application may perform this particular transition, forexample, in response to the transport control block reaching the end ofthe particular broadcasting program.

FIG. 35 shows an illustrative transport control bar 3500. Whereas inFIG. 34, start time 3402 was changed (from that of FIGS. 32 and 33) toindicate the beginning of buffer region 3406, in FIG. 35, start time3502 remains the same. For example, if the user tunes to a program inprogress that began at 7:00 p and ends at 8:30 p, a transport controlbar such as transport control bar 3300 (FIG. 33) may be displayed. Whenthat program ends and a new program begins, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may modify the display of the transportcontrol bar to appear similar to transport control bar 3500. Transportcontrol bar 3500 is arranged such that the original start time 3502 isleft unchanged and while end time 3504 is updated to represent the endtime of the new program. Buffer region 3506 represents what has beenrecorded since recording began on the present channel. Buffer region3506 may change based on available buffer memory. For example, if thereis only sufficient memory for one hour of video programming, then afteran hour, buffer region 3506 may begin shifting to the right (i.e., newlyrecorded content will replace older recorded content) by moving theleftmost edge and the rightmost edge of buffer region 3506 to the right.Any such suitable indication may be used to indicate what is beingstored in buffer memory.

Region 3508 of transport control bar 3500 indicates content that has notbeen stored in buffer memory. In one suitable approach, when region 3508represents older content has been replaced by newer content in buffermemory, the interactive television program guide application mayvisually distinguish (e.g., by using different colors, patterns, etc.)region 3508 from buffer region 3506, and from region 3510 (i.e., contentthat has not yet been recorded).

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may provide the user with the ability tobookmark desired locations in the video programming in both the shortterm and the long term modes. The bookmarked locations may be indicatedto the user by the interactive television program guide application onthe transport control bar using, for example, markers of a differentcolor (e.g., a color selected by the user).

For example, FIG. 36 shows a transport control bar 3600 that may, forexample, represent a time block from 7:00 p until 10:00 p. This timeblock, as illustrated, includes two consecutive broadcast programscorresponding to regions 3604 and 3606. Marker 3602, which maycorrespond to 8:00p may indicate the break from the first program to thesecond program. Marker 3602 may be automatically set by the interactivetelevision program guide application or set by the user. In theillustrated example, the first program may have started at 7:00 p andended at 8:00 p; the second program may have started at 8:00 p and endedat 10:00 p. It will be understood that any suitable number of programbreaks may be represented in a single transport control bar using anysuitable number of markers or any other suitable indicators. A transportcontrol bar, in accordance with the present invention may represent anytime range no matter how big or how small (e.g., on the order ofseconds, minutes, hours, days, etc.).

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may allow the user to control recording oflive video. As an example, while watching a live video as shown in FIG.37, the interactive television program guide application may allow theuser to indicate a desire to record the currently broadcasting program(includes broadcast of the program that is shown at substantially thetime that it is being broadcasted and delayed broadcast of the program).In response to receiving a command from the user to record the currentlybroadcasting program, the interactive television program guideapplication may, for example, automatically adjust the transport controlbar display to reflect times specific to the currently broadcastingprogram.

As an example, the interactive television program guide application mayadjust the start time and end time of the recorded buffer displayed onthe transport control bar to the start and end time of the currentlybroadcasting program. The interactive television program guideapplication may also automatically adjust the transport control bardisplay to reflect recording of the current program, for example, bydisplaying the recording icon in the transport control block (FIG. 38).

When the user initiates a playback of the recorded video at a later time(or when the user selects to restart a previously watched or partiallywatched program from the beginning, the interactive television programguide may display zero as the start time on the transport control barand may display the time length of the recorded program as the end timeof the program. A label such as “DVR” may be displayed in placed of anychannel information.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may allow the user to pause the live video ofa currently broadcasting program. In such embodiments, the interactivetelevision program guide application may pause the time shown within thetransport control block as well as the progression of the transportcontrol block at the time that the user initiated the pause. Theinteractive television program guide application may, however, continueto record the live video in real time and may indicate the continuedrecording, for example, by allowing the buffer region to extend beyondthe paused transport control block shown on the transport control bar(see region 3906 of FIG. 39 that extends beyond current playing locationof 3908).

The interactive television program guide application may later allow theuser to resume viewing of the live video, for example, at any locationwithin the buffered region. When the user resumes viewing of the livevideo, the interactive television program guide application may indicatethe current viewing position (see 3908 of FIG. 39) as well as the livevideo position (see 3910 of FIG. 39) on the transport control bar. Forexample, the current viewing position may be indicated by the transportcontrol block, while the live video position may be indicated, forexample, using a marker shown on the right hand side of the bufferregion.

In some embodiments of the present invention the visual appearance of abuffer region that designates automatically recorded content may bedistinguishable from the visual appearance of a region of the transportcontrol bar that designates content that is being recorded at therequest of the user. For example, the buffer region for automaticallyrecorded content may be displayed as the color green, whereas the bufferregion for content that is being recorded at the request of the user maybe displayed as the color red.

It will be understood that any suitable information may be providedusing the transport control bar of the present invention. For example,FIG. 39 shows an illustrative transport control bar 3900 representingmultiple program recordings in buffer regions 3904 (i.e., separated bymarkers, as illustrated). The buffer regions associated with differentprogram recordings may also vary in color, pattern, or otherdistinguishable manner. According to one suitable approach, the bufferregion associated with a currently viewed program is always displayed inthe same color, pattern, etc. Accordingly, when a new program starts toplay back and the interactive television program guide applicationretains all or part of the previous program in the buffer, the bufferregion associated with the previous program changes in color, pattern,or other manner to indicate that it is no longer the currently viewedprogram.

Also included as part of transport control bar is program listinginformation 3902. In one suitable approach, program listing information3902 may correspond to whatever program is currently being displayed onthe display screen. For example, if NHL Hockey is currently beingviewed, then corresponding programming information related to NHL Hockeymay be displayed. If the user rewinds to a previous program (e.g., thatappears as a separate buffer region), the programming informationassociated with that program may be displayed. It will be understoodthat the arrangement of the transport control bar of FIG. 39 is merelyillustrative. Any other suitable arrangement may be used. For example,programming information may be displayed for any or all of the programsbroadcast during the time span between the start time and the end timeof the transport bar. Any other suitable information may be displayed,such as, advertisement information, icons, logos, options to setreminders, request additional information, or any other suitableinformation. Elements of the transport control bar of the presentinvention may be interactive. For example, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may allow the user to select program listing3902 in order to, for example, obtain additional information related tothe corresponding program, to order merchandise, or to perform any othersuitable action.

The interactive television program guide application may display thetransport control bar of the present invention at any suitable time, inresponse to any suitable event, and for any suitable length of time. Forexample, the interactive television program guide application maydisplay the transport control bar in response to a channel changecommand, in response to an action command associated with a programcurrently being viewed (e.g., record, fast-forward, rewind, stop, etc.).The transport control bar may be displayed indefinitely until aparticular user command is issued (e.g., until the user presses an“exit” button on the remote control) or it may time out automaticallyafter a period of inactivity. Whether it times out and how long it waitsbefore timing out may differ depending on the video playback mode, orany other suitable factors. For example, the transport bar may time outafter a few seconds while in the normal Play mode, and not time out atall while rewinding or fast-forwarding.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in providing atransport control interface in connection with a currently broadcastingprogram (includes broadcast of the program that is shown atsubstantially the time that it is being broadcasted and delayedbroadcast of the program). At step 4002, the interactive televisionprogram guide application displays a currently broadcasting program tothe user, for example, in response to the user tuning to a channel. Theinteractive television program guide application determines a start timeand end time that are associated with the currently broadcasting programat step 4004. The interactive television program guide application maydetermine such information, for example, by examining previously storedprogram guide data associated with the program, by reading program guidedata received in the VBI of the currently broadcasting program, or byusing any other suitable method.

At step 4006, the interactive television program guide applicationdisplays a transport control interface for the currently broadcastingprogram (e.g., a transport control bar) that may indicate the timelength of the currently broadcasting program and that indicates at leastone time segment of the time length that has been recorded. It will beunderstood that while the start time and end time of the currentlybroadcasting program may be displayed on the transport control interfacein accordance with present invention, they are not necessarilydisplayed. Any other suitable time associated with the transport controlinterface may be displayed. For example, the transport control interfacemay indicate a start time associated with the buffer, half hourincrements that correspond to the length of the buffer, half hourincrements that correspond to a fixed length of the transport bar, etc.

FIG. 41 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in modifying atransport control interface to reflect changes in the currentlybroadcasting program (includes broadcast of the program that is shown atsubstantially the time that it is being broadcasted and delayedbroadcast of the program) in accordance with the present invention.Steps 4102 is identical to steps 4002 described above in connection withFIG. 40. At step 4104, the interactive television program guideapplication indicates at least one time segment that is associated witha recording of the currently broadcasting program.

At step 4106, the interactive television program guide applicationdetermines whether playing of the currently broadcasting program(includes broadcast of the program that is shown at substantially thetime that it is being broadcasted and delayed broadcast of the program)has been completed. The interactive television program guide applicationmay make this determination, for example, by identifying a flag thatindicates the end of a program or the start of a subsequent program, bydetermining that the end time of the currently broadcasting program haspassed, by determining that the user has not paused or rewound thecurrently broadcasting program thus extending its end time, bydetermining that any replaying of the delayed video has been completed,or by using any other suitable method.

If playing of the currently broadcasting program has been completed (andno delayed video of this broadcasting program is currently beingplayed), the interactive television program guide application displays asubsequent broadcasting program to the user and modifies the transportcontrol interface to also indicate any time segment of the subsequentbroadcasting program that has been recorded at step 4108.

FIG. 42 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in providing atransport control interface that indicates programming informationassociated with a television program in accordance with the presentinvention. At step 4202, the interactive television program guideapplication displays a television program to the user. At step 4204, theinteractive television program guide application additionally displays atransport control interface that indicates a time segment associatedwith a recording of the television program. In one suitable approach,the displayed transport control interface also includes programminginformation that is associated with the displayed television program.

As described above, the interactive television program guide applicationmay use the transport control bar to indicate to the user a currentaction status with respect to previously recorded video (e.g., playindicator 2906 of FIG. 29). Such action status may include, playing,rewinding, fast-forwarding, slow playing, slow reversing, pausing, andany other suitable action status. More specific details associated withaction statuses such as, for example, the speed of rewinding,fast-forwarding, slow playing, etc., may also be indicated. Thetransport control bar may additionally indicate to the user recentactions that have taken place. For example, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may indicate to the user that a 30-second skipforward, a 15 second instant replay, a jump to a bookmark, a singleframe advance or reverse, or any other suitable recent action, has takenplace.

FIG. 43 shows various illustrative action status indicators that may bedisplayed by the interactive television program guide applicationdepending on the current mode of the application and/or recent useractivity. Indicators 4302-4312 indicate various forward playing modes ofthe interactive television program guide application. Indicator 4302indicates that video is being played at a slow forward play speed.Indicator 4304 indicates that video is being played at the normalforward play speed. Indicators 4306-4312 indicate that video is beingfast-forwarded at various speed. In this group, indicator 4306 indicatesthe slowest fast-forward play speed and indicator 4312 indicates thefastest fast-forward play speed.

Indicators 4314-4324 indicate various reverse playing modes of theinteractive television program guide application. Indicator 4314indicates that video is being played at a slow reverse play speed.Indicator 4316 indicates that video is being played at the normal playspeed, but in the reverse direction. Indicators 4318-4324 indicate thatvideo is being rewound at various speed. In this group, indicator 4318indicates the slowest rewind speed and indicator 4324 indicates thefastest rewind speed.

Indicator 4326 indicates that the user just or recently initiated a“Replay” command, which rewinds the video a certain amount of time(e.g., 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, etc.). Indicator 4328indicates that the user just or recently initiated a “Skip Forward”command, which may advance or forward the video being displayed by acertain amount of time (e.g., 30 seconds). Indicator 4330 indicates thatthe program being displayed is also being recorded. Indicator 4332indicates that the video being displayed is currently being paused.

The indicators shown in FIG. 43 are merely illustrative. Any othersuitable indicators may be used to represent the modes discussed above.In addition, the modes of the interactive television program guideapplication discussed above are merely illustrative. Indicators may bedisplayed to indicate any other modes of the interactive televisionprogram guide application.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the interactivetelevision program guide application may provide transport control(e.g., rewinding, fast-forwarding, etc.) of recorded video content notonly from a currently tuned to channel, but also from one or morepreviously tuned to channels. In this embodiment, the buffer region ofthe transport control bar may graphically indicate that there isrecorded video content from the current channel and from previouslytuned to channels. The transport control bar may visually distinguish(e.g., by using different colors or patterns, by using a divider,marker, text labels, or icons, or by any other suitable method orcombination of methods) between recorded video content of differentchannels.

Initially, when the buffer region contains only recorded content of thecurrently tuned to channel, the buffer region showing the recordedcontent may be of a generic color and the channel information such astitle and channel number may be displayed on the transport control baras shown in FIG. 39. As soon as the user tunes to another channel andbegin recording that channel's content into the buffer, the interactivetelevision program guide application may assign different colors orpatterns, etc. to distinguish the buffer regions associated with thepreviously tuned to channel and the currently tuned to channel in thetransport control bar.

In one suitable approach the buffer region associated with thepreviously tuned to channel may change in color so that the bufferregion associated with the currently tuned to channel may always appearin the same color. In an alternative embodiment, the buffer regionassociated with the channel currently being played back may always be inthe same color, and the buffer regions associated with channels tunedbefore or after that channel may be in an alternate color. Theinteractive television program guide application may also displaychannel name or other identifier on the transport control bar toidentify the previously tuned to channels. The interactive televisionprogram guide application may additionally update the channel andprogram information associated with the currently tuned to channel toreflect the channel change.

FIG. 44 shows such a transport control bar 4400 in which recordedcontent from two previously tuned to channel and recorded content fromthe currently tuned to channel are represented in buffer region 4402.Buffer regions 4404-4408, which are associated with the differentchannels, are distinguished from each other through different displaypatterns in this example. Buffers regions 4404 and 4406, which areassociated with previously tuned to channels are also labeled with thechannel name in this example.

Transport control bar 4400 is merely illustrative of such a transportcontrol bar. Any other suitable methods of distinguish recorded contentfrom previously tuned to channels in a transport control bar may beused.

In some embodiments of the present invention, The user televisionequipment and the interactive television program guide application maysupport multiple simultaneous inputs. According to one suitableapproach, the user television equipment and the interactive televisionprogram guide application may receive broadcast television input fromtwo or more tuners and may also receive as input playback programs froma digital video recorder hard disk, a network video recorder server, avideo-on-demand server, or any other suitable source of playback video.

In these embodiments, the interactive television program guideapplication may display multiple transport control bars simultaneouslyto represent the various inputs (see FIG. 45). Alternatively, theinteractive television program guide application may display a singletransport control bar that integrates the different inputs.

As an example, the user television equipment and the interactivetelevision program guide application may receive inputs from two tuners.The interactive television program guide application may display a firsttransport control bar (4502 of FIG. 45) in connection with the programcurrently being watched, which may have originated with a first tuner.The second tuner may be used to record a different program. Theinteractive television program guide application may display a secondtransport control bar (4504 of FIG. 45) in connection with the contentbeing recorded (automatically or in response to user command) by thesecond tuner. The transport control bar corresponding to the second orbackground tuner may be displayed in a designated location on thescreen, so that the user understands which bar corresponds to whichtuner. In one suitable approach, the second transport control bar may besmaller. The second transport control bar may also include reducedfeatures, such as the transport control block.

As another example, the user may be playing back previously recordedcontent, from the DVR or VOD. The application may display a primarytransport bar corresponding to the program being played. In response toa specific command from the user, the application may display one ormore additional transport bars corresponding to the broadcastprogramming being recorded by one or more tuners. Alternatively, theapplication may allow the user to toggle between the transport barscorresponding to each of the source inputs, for example, in response tothe user pressing a suitable toggle button on a remote control, inresponse to the user selecting one of the transport control bar, or inresponse to any other suitable user command.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the user equipment and theinteractive television program guide application may support multipleoutputs as well as multiple inputs. As an example, the interactivetelevision program guide application may provide a main video window(4600 of FIG. 46), which displays video associated with one of theinputs, and a picture-in-picture window (4604 of FIG. 46), whichdisplays video associated with another one of the inputs. In such anembodiment, the interactive television program guide application maydisplay a main transport control bar (4602 of FIG. 46) for main videowindow 4600, and may display a smaller transport control bar (4606 ofFIG. 46) for the picture-in-picture window 4604, which may be located inPIP window 4604 or on the screen 4600 near PIP window 4604.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this inventionand various modifications can be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention

1. A method for providing information about a currently broadcastingprogram, wherein the currently broadcasting program includes broadcastof a program that is shown at substantially the time that it is beingbroadcasted and delayed broadcast of the program, the method comprising:displaying the currently broadcasting program; determining a start timeand an end time associated with the currently broadcasting program; anddisplaying a transport control interface, wherein the transport controlinterface indicates: time length of the currently broadcasting programbased on the start time and on the end time, and at least one timesegment of the time length of the currently broadcasting program thathas been recorded.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein displaying thetransport control interface comprises displaying a transport controlbar.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein displaying the transport controlbar comprises displaying the start time on one end of the transportcontrol bar and the end time on an opposite end of the transport controlbar.
 4. The method of claim 2 wherein the at least one time segment isrepresented by at least one region of the transport control bar.
 5. Themethod of claim 4 wherein the at least one region of the transportcontrol bar is visually distinguishable from at least one other regionof the transport control bar that is associated with non-recordedcontent.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one time segmentrepresents at least one portion of the currently broadcasting programthat has been automatically recorded into buffer memory.
 7. The methodof claim 1 wherein the at least one time segment represents at least oneportion of the currently broadcasting program that has been recorded inresponse to a specific user command to record the currently broadcastingprogram.
 8. A method for providing information about at least twobroadcasting programs, the method comprising: displaying a currentlybroadcasting program, wherein the currently broadcasting programincludes broadcast of a program that is shown at substantially the timethat it is being broadcasted and delayed broadcast of the program;displaying a transport control interface that indicates at least onetime segment associated with a recording of the currently broadcastingprogram; and when playing of the currently broadcasting program isfinished, displaying a subsequent broadcasting program, wherein thetransport control interface is modified to also indicate at least onetime segment associated with a recording of the subsequent broadcastingprogram.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein displaying the transportcontrol interface comprises displaying a transport control bar.
 10. Themethod of claim 9 wherein displaying the transport control bar comprisesdisplaying a start time on one end of the transport control bar and anend time on an opposite end of the transport control bar.
 11. The methodof claim 9 wherein the at least one time segment is represented by atleast one region of the transport control bar.
 12. The method of claim11 wherein the at least one region of the transport control bar isvisually distinguishable from at least one other region of the transportcontrol bar that is associated with non-recorded content.
 13. The methodof claim 8 wherein the at least one time segment represents at least oneportion of the currently broadcasting program or at least one portion ofthe subsequent broadcasting program that has been automatically recordedinto buffer memory.
 14. The method of claim 8 wherein the at least onetime segment represents at least one portion of the currentlybroadcasting program or at least one portion of the subsequentbroadcasting program that has been recorded in response to a specificuser command to record the currently broadcasting program.
 15. A methodfor providing information about a television program, the methodcomprising: displaying a television program; and displaying a transportcontrol interface that indicates a time segment associated with arecording of the television program, the transport control interfacefurther indicating programming information associated with thetelevision program.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein displaying thetransport control interface comprises displaying a transport controlbar.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein displaying the transport controlbar comprises displaying a start time on one end of the transportcontrol bar and an end time on an opposite end of the transport controlbar.
 18. A system for providing information about a currentlybroadcasting program, wherein the currently broadcasting programincludes broadcast of a program that is shown at substantially the timethat it is being broadcasted and delayed broadcast of the program, thesystem comprising: means for displaying the currently broadcastingprogram; means for determining a start time and an end time associatedwith the currently broadcasting program; and means for displaying atransport control interface, wherein the transport control interfaceindicates: time length of the currently broadcasting program based onthe start time and on the end time, and at least one time segment of thetime length of the currently broadcasting program that has beenrecorded.
 19. The system of claim 18 wherein the means for displayingthe transport control interface comprises means for displaying atransport control bar.
 20. The system of claim 19 wherein the means fordisplaying the transport control bar comprises means for displaying thestart time on one end of the transport control bar and the end time onan opposite end of the transport control bar.
 21. The system of claim 19wherein the at least one time segment is represented by at least oneregion of the transport control bar.
 22. The system of claim 21 whereinthe at least one region of the transport control bar is visuallydistinguishable from at least one other region of the transport controlbar that is associated with non-recorded content.
 23. The system ofclaim 18 wherein the at least one time segment represents at least oneportion of the currently broadcasting program that has beenautomatically recorded into buffer memory.
 24. The system of claim 18wherein the at least one time segment represents at least one portion ofthe currently broadcasting program that has been recorded in response toa specific user command to record the currently broadcasting program.25. A system for providing information about at least two broadcastingprograms, the system comprising: means for displaying a currentlybroadcasting program, wherein the currently broadcasting programincludes broadcast of a program that is shown at substantially the timethat it is being broadcasted and delayed broadcast of the program; meansfor displaying a transport control interface that indicates at least onetime segment associated with a recording of the currently broadcastingprogram; and when playing of the currently broadcasting program isfinished, means for displaying a subsequent broadcasting program,wherein the transport control interface is modified to also indicate atleast one time segment associated with a recording of the subsequentbroadcasting program.
 26. The system of claim 25 wherein the means fordisplaying the transport control interface comprises means fordisplaying a transport control bar.
 27. The system of claim 26 whereinthe means for displaying the transport control bar comprises means fordisplaying a start time on one end of the transport control bar and anend time on an opposite end of the transport control bar.
 28. The systemof claim 26 wherein the at least one time segment is represented by atleast one region of the transport control bar.
 29. The system of claim28 wherein the at least one region of the transport control bar isvisually distinguishable from at least one other region of the transportcontrol bar that is associated with non-recorded content.
 30. The systemof claim 25 wherein the at least one time segment represents at leastone portion of the currently broadcasting program or at least oneportion of the subsequent broadcasting program that has beenautomatically recorded into buffer memory.
 31. The system of claim 25wherein the at least one time segment represents at least one portion ofthe currently broadcasting program or at least one portion of thesubsequent broadcasting program that has been recorded in response to aspecific user command to record the currently broadcasting program. 32.A system for providing information about a television program, thesystem comprising: means for displaying a television program; and meansfor displaying a transport control interface that indicates a timesegment associated with a recording of the television program, thetransport control interface further indicating programming informationassociated with the television program.
 33. The system of claim 32wherein the means for displaying the transport control interfacecomprises means for displaying a transport control bar.
 34. The systemof claim 33 wherein displaying the transport control bar comprisesdisplaying a start time on one end of the transport control bar and anend time on an opposite end of the transport control bar.
 35. A systemfor providing information about a currently broadcasting program,wherein the currently broadcasting program includes broadcast of aprogram that is shown at substantially the time that it is beingbroadcasted and delayed broadcast of the program, the system comprising:a user input interface; a display; and control circuitry configured to:display the currently broadcasting program; determine a start time andan end time associated with the currently broadcasting program; anddisplay a transport control interface, wherein the transport controlinterface indicates: time length of the currently broadcasting programbased on the start time and on the end time, and at least one timesegment of the time length of the currently broadcasting program thathas been recorded.
 36. The system of claim 35 wherein the controlcircuitry is further configured to display a transport control bar. 37.The system of claim 36 wherein displaying the transport control barcomprises displaying the start time on one end of the transport controlbar and the end time on an opposite end of the transport control bar.38. The system of claim 36 wherein the at least one time segment isrepresented by at least one region of the transport control bar.
 39. Thesystem of claim 38 wherein the at least one region of the transportcontrol bar is visually distinguishable from at least one other regionof the transport control bar that is associated with non-recordedcontent.
 40. The system of claim 35 wherein the at least one timesegment represents at least one portion of the currently broadcastingprogram that has been automatically recorded into buffer memory.
 41. Thesystem of claim 35 wherein the at least one time segment represents atleast one portion of the currently broadcasting program that has beenrecorded in response to a specific user command to record the currentlybroadcasting program.
 42. A system for providing information about atleast two broadcasting programs, the system comprising: a user inputinterface; a display; and control circuitry configured to: display acurrently broadcasting program, wherein the currently broadcastingprogram includes broadcast of a program that is shown at substantiallythe time that it is being broadcasted and delayed broadcast of theprogram; display a transport control interface that indicates at leastone time segment associated with a recording of the currentlybroadcasting program; and when playing of the currently broadcastingprogram is finished, display a subsequent broadcasting program, whereinthe transport control interface is modified to also indicate at leastone time segment associated with a recording of the subsequentbroadcasting program.
 43. The system of claim 42 wherein the controlcircuitry is further configured to display a transport control bar. 44.The system of claim 43 wherein the control circuitry is furtherconfigured to display a start time on one end of the transport controlbar and an end time on an opposite end of the transport control bar. 45.The system of claim 43 wherein the at least one time segment isrepresented by at least one region of the transport control bar.
 46. Thesystem of claim 45 wherein the at least one region of the transportcontrol bar is visually distinguishable from at least one other regionof the transport control bar that is associated with non-recordedcontent.
 47. The system of claim 42 wherein the at least one timesegment represents at least one portion of the currently broadcastingprogram or at least one portion of the subsequent broadcasting programthat has been automatically recorded into buffer memory.
 48. The systemof claim 42 wherein the at least one time segment represents at leastone portion of the currently broadcasting program or at least oneportion of the subsequent broadcasting program that has been recorded inresponse to a specific user command to record the currently broadcastingprogram.
 49. A system for providing information about a televisionprogram, the system comprising: a user input interface; a display; andcontrol circuitry configured to: display a television program; anddisplay a transport control interface that indicates a time segmentassociated with a recording of the television program, the transportcontrol interface further indicating programming information associatedwith the television program.
 50. The system of claim 49 wherein thecontrol circuitry is further configured to display a transport controlbar.
 51. The system of claim 50 wherein the control circuitry is furtherconfigured to display a start time on one end of the transport controlbar and an end time on an opposite end of the transport control bar. 52.Machine-readable media for providing information about a currentlybroadcasting program, wherein the currently broadcasting programincludes broadcast of a program that is shown at substantially the timethat it is being broadcasted and delayed broadcast of the program, andwherein the machine-readable media is encoded with machine-readableinstructions thereon for: displaying the currently broadcasting program;determining a start time and an end time associated with the currentlybroadcasting program; and displaying a transport control interface,wherein the transport control interface indicates: time length of thecurrently broadcasting program based on the start time and on the endtime, and at least one time segment of the time length of the currentlybroadcasting program that has been recorded.
 53. The machine-readablemedia of claim 52 wherein the machine-readable media is further encodedwith machine-readable instructions thereon for displaying a transportcontrol bar.
 54. The machine-readable media of claim 53 wherein themachine-readable media is further encoded with machine-readableinstructions thereon for displaying the start time on one end of thetransport control bar and the end time on an opposite end of thetransport control bar.
 55. The machine-readable media of claim 53wherein the at least one time segment is represented by at least oneregion of the transport control bar.
 56. The machine-readable media ofclaim 55 wherein the at least one region of the transport control bar isvisually distinguishable from at least one other region of the transportcontrol bar that is associated with non-recorded content.
 57. Themachine-readable media of claim 52 wherein the at least one time segmentrepresents at least one portion of the currently broadcasting programthat has been automatically recorded into buffer memory.
 58. Themachine-readable media of claim 52 wherein the at least one time segmentrepresents at least one portion of the currently broadcasting programthat has been recorded in response to a specific user command to recordthe currently broadcasting program.
 59. Machine-readable media forproviding information about at least two broadcasting programs, wherethe machine-readable media is encoded with machine-readable instructionsthereon for: displaying a currently broadcasting program, wherein thecurrently broadcasting program includes broadcast of a program that isshown at substantially the time that it is being broadcasted and delayedbroadcast of the program; displaying a transport control interface thatindicates at least one time segment associated with a recording of thecurrently broadcasting program; and when playing of the currentlybroadcasting program is finished, displaying a subsequent broadcastingprogram, wherein the transport control interface is modified to alsoindicate at least one time segment associated with a recording of thesubsequent broadcasting program.
 60. The machine-readable media of claim59 wherein the machine-readable media is further encoded withmachine-readable instructions thereon for displaying a transport controlbar.
 61. The machine-readable media of claim 60 wherein themachine-readable media is further encoded with machine-readableinstructions thereon for displaying a start time on one end of thetransport control bar and an end time on an opposite end of thetransport control bar.
 62. The machine-readable media of claim 60wherein the at least one time segment is represented by at least oneregion of the transport control bar.
 63. The machine-readable media ofclaim 62 wherein the at least one region of the transport control bar isvisually distinguishable from at least one other region of the transportcontrol bar that is associated with non-recorded content.
 64. Themachine-readable media of claim 59 wherein the at least one time segmentrepresents at least one portion of the currently broadcasting program orat least one portion of the subsequent broadcasting program that hasbeen automatically recorded into buffer memory.
 65. The machine-readablemedia of claim 59 wherein the at least one time segment represents atleast one portion of the currently broadcasting program or at least oneportion of the subsequent broadcasting program that has been recorded inresponse to a specific user command to record the currently broadcastingprogram.
 66. Machine-readable media for providing information about atelevision program, wherein the machine-readable media is encoded withmachine-readable instructions thereon for: displaying a televisionprogram; and displaying a transport control interface that indicates atime segment associated with a recording of the television program, thetransport control interface further indicating programming informationassociated with the television program.
 67. The machine-readable mediaof claim 66 wherein the machine-readable media is further encoded withmachine-readable instructions thereon for displaying a transport controlbar.
 68. The machine-readable media of claim 67 wherein themachine-readable media is further encoded with machine-readableinstructions thereon for displaying a start time on one end of thetransport control bar and an end time on an opposite end of thetransport control bar.